A coin toss could give me two completely different lives. But once I know the result there\u2019s no going back<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve spent most of my life knowing I may have inherited a faulty gene that would cause Huntington\u2019s disease<\/a>, a neurodegenerative disease that can be fatal. My grandad had the disease, my mum has it, and I am yet to take the test to find out if I have it too. It\u2019s a 50\/50 chance of inheritance. Right now, I am happily ignorant of whether I carry the mutation or not. A coin toss could give me two completely different lives. Once I know the results, there\u2019s no going back. So far, everyone who has been tested in my family has tested positive. It seems the odds are against me. I\u2019m 27 years old, and I\u2019m starting to think seriously about my future, whether that is moving overseas or contemplating having children. Whatever big decisions I am facing now, I can\u2019t help but wonder, could this disease overshadow them? I explore this tension in a newly released short documentary, Fifty Percent<\/a>.<\/p>\n Related: <\/span>After the Nobel, what next for Crispr gene-editing therapies?<\/a> <\/p>\n