August 9, 2007 presentation by Russ Altman for the Stanford University Office of Science Outreach's Summer Science Lecture Series. There are a number of causes for variation in drug response across the population, but differences in genetics are an important factor. Russ Altman, Professor & Chair of Bioengineering and Professor of Genetics and Medicine, discusses how variations in genetics can alter the "typical" response as well as touch upon the ethical issues with the use of this knowledge. Stanford University Office of Science Outreach: http://oso.stanford.edu Summer Science Lecture Series: http://oso.stanford.edu/lecture_series.html?id=1 Stanford University Channel on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/stanford