The reason some of us get diseases such as cancer or diabetes while others don't may lie in our DNA. This hour, we'll look at the genetics of common diseases, including a new study that links variations in DNA to differences in how well different people fight HIV infection. New technology in genetics has allowed researchers to sift through the human genome looking for possible genetic connections to all types of diseases. But how can knowledge about those associations be put into use? We'll talk with several key researchers in the field of genome-wide association studies.

Plus, if you're not camping out to grab the new Harry Potter book, how about a nice game of checkers? Researchers report in the journal Science this week that after sorting through 500 billion billion possible moves, they've been able to create a computer program that will never lose a game of checkers -- though if both players play perfectly, the game will end in a draw. What does it mean to have solved the game of checkers -- and does that achievement have any bearing on other games, like chess or poker? We'll talk with one of the scientists on the checker-playing team.

Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255 (2-3 Eastern). Teachers, find more information about using Science Friday as a classroom resource in the Kids' Connection.

Guests:
David Valle
Director of McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine
Professor of Pediatrics, Ophthalmology and, Molecular Biology & Genetics
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland

Lawrence Brody
Senior Investigator
Human Genome Research Institute
Bethesda, Maryland

Aravinda Chakravarti
Director of the Center for Complex Disease Genomics
Professor of Medicine, Pediatrics, Molecular Biology and Genetics
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland

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David Goldstein
Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology
Institute for Genome Sciences And Policy
Duke University
Durham, NC

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Jonathan Schaeffer
Professor of Computer Science
University of Alberta
Alberta, Canada

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This segment produced by Flora Lichtman