Cutting Edge Genome Technologies And Applications: Advances In Diagnosing, Treat

[Guest guest]

Cutting Edge Genome Technologies And Applications: Advances In

Diagnosing, Treating More Diseases

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/105344.php

Cutting-edge genome technologies and their applications to the

diagnosis and treatment of disease continue to advance in

laboratories and on campuses around the world. The recent discoveries

of new genetic variants are giving both scientists and patients new

hope for helping reduce suffering from a wide range of diseases, from

Alzheimer's and diabetes to many forms of cancer.

The pace of discovery is advancing and the body of literature

growing. To help put the latest achievements in perspective, noted

experts will convene at the 2008 BIO International Convention from

June 17 to 20 in San Diego, featuring a session entitled Genomics

Drives Disruptive Innovations in Biotechnology.

The June 17 presentation will be led by Dr. Francis S. ,

director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and

include Dr. Lynda Chin from Dana-Farber Cancer Center, on the Cancer

Genome Atlas, and Elaine R. Mardis, Ph.D., co-director of the Genome

Sequencing Center at Washington University School of Medicine.

This is expected to be one of the biggest sessions at the convention

since the technology is advancing more swiftly than ever. In 2003 the

Human Genome Project (HGP) completed the sequencing of the human DNA

code, an accomplishment considered by many leaders to be one of the

most ambitious scientific undertakings of all time. Some compared it

to splitting the atom and landing on the moon.

By deciphering, or sequencing, the three billion chemical bases,

or " letters, " of the human DNA blueprint, the HGP provided scientists

throughout the world with a much-needed tool to investigate the

molecular basis of health and disease.

Scientists are quickly mining the new trove of data from the HGP.

When HGP began in 1990, scientists had discovered fewer than 100

human disease genes. Today, over 1,400 disease genes have been

identified. And, thanks to the HGP and to new technologies, today's

laboratories can study the expression of tens of thousands of genes

in a single afternoon. Just a decade or so ago, these same

laboratories could study only one or two genes in a month.

Clinical opportunities for gene-based, pre-symptomatic prediction of

illness and adverse drug response are emerging at a rapid pace, and

the therapeutic promise of genomics has ushered in an exciting phase

of expansion and exploration in the commercial sector, Dr.

and his colleagues wrote in 2003.

Among recent findings in genomics was the identification of six more

genetic variants involved in Type 2 diabetes, boosting to 16 the

total number of genetic factors associated with increased risk of the

disease. None of the genetic variants uncovered by the recent study

had previously been suspected of playing a role in Type 2 diabetes.

As a result of the HGP, scientists also have identified two major

genes that influence risk for developing adult macular degeneration,

a leading cause of vision loss in the elderly, with those at lowest

risk having less than one percent chance of developing the disease,

and those at highest risk a 50 percent chance.

The HGP also enabled the discoveries of variants in different genes

that elevate risk for developing prostate cancer and Alzheimer's

disease. Other findings have included the identification of genetic

variants that may predict whether or not a particular individual will

respond well to drug treatment for disease, or will suffer a side

effect. will provide updates on the latest achievements

during the June 17 panel.

For further information in advance of the session, visit

http://www.nhgri.nih.gov