This week, for me, was all about genes and jeans.
The papers were dominated by bold claims that doctors had been given the go ahead to 'make' babies with three parents. The news editors couldn’t resist the opportunity to print an eye-catching headline and hysteria ensued. If, however, you took the time to read around the story it soon became apparent that these claims were not perhaps as dramatic as they first appeared. Doctors have discovered that they can prevent mitochondrial disease by using the healthy mitochondria from a donor in conjunction with the parent’s egg and sperm. Therefore the impact of the DNA from the donor is so minuscule several decimal points are required. Yes - in theory the child will have genes from three different people but in reality it's not as large an ethical question as we were first lead to believe.
The other jeans were not breaking any headlines but they were testing my normally insatiable appetite for retail therapy. I will let you in on a secret: I despise shopping for new jeans. This time of year is the worst; by the time I've found a few pairs to try, pulled off my boots and stripped off all my layers I am bright red, overheating and that's before I've even attempted to squeeze myself into an ultra skinny pair claiming to be ‘my’ size.
The frustration at my lack of well fitting jeans had reached a peak and sufficient time had passed since my last unsuccessful attempt - I felt ready to try again. An incredibly helpful shop assistant, an empty changing space and a surplus of perfectly fitting jeans resulted in an unexpectedly pleasant shopping experience. Now let's hope I don't change shape for a while.
