Similar to the concept of two people having multiple friends in common on Facebook, the odds are they know the other person, geneticist’s are relating similarities in genetic interaction profiles and the likelihood the genes will effect similar processes. This helps to understand genetic makeup and traits such as disease susceptibility.
Scientists according to an article from Science Daily, are comparing entire genomes of sick individuals to that of healthy individuals in order to discover genetic variations . These noticeable variations have been evidence to discovering links between genes and diseases but until recently have been weak and not clear cut. Due to a new method developed by teams of Wolfgang Huber at EMBL and Michael Boutros at DKFZ, scientist are comparing sets of genes rather than just individual genes.
By taking these sets of genes and using a technique known as RNA interference, scientists are able to identify a new component in a cell signaling process. RNA interference silences two genes at a time rather then one, and compares the effect to what happens when only one gene or the other member of each pair is silenced.
Having groups of genes in common is more evidence to linkage of genetic diseases or disorders, further knowledge in this field could lead to advances that could help predict patient’s outcomes and provide treatments for diseases. This is a rather large step in discovering genetic diseases at a faster rate in order to provide more methods to combat and treat such diseases.
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