Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, holds the key to unlocking many mysteries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Law enforcement began using DNA profiling in the 1980s to solve decades-old crimes. Today, tens of thousands of people have invested time and money into finding answers regarding their health, heredity and ancestry through commercial DNA testing companies. Now, the same science may prove critical to solving yet another mystery: what makes a veteran, at the rate of 20 a day, choose to take his or her own life? More importantly, does DNA offer a path toward predicting who\u2019s likely to make that choice?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s no more helpless a feeling than trying to comfort the family of a service member or veteran who inexplicably took his own life or harmed herself in some way. At least that\u2019s what it feels like to me and my colleagues at AMVETS who take the calls from veterans and family members in crisis or who need help immediately following a crisis. The most common refrain we hear is: \u201cI wish I could\u2019ve predicted it would happen or known the signs and acted sooner.\u201d The bad news is that nothing can bring back those veterans who took their own lives. The good news is science, through the study of genomic material in DNA, may soon provide a way to predict and mitigate the risk of suicide. <\/p>\n\n\n\t