Prior to the Human Genome Project, pharmaceutical drugs had relied on the chance of being discovered for treatments. The efficiency at which more drugs were developed for treatments was as of a result of the Human Genome Project. Throughout the article The First Human Genetic Blueprint Just Turned 20. What's Next?) The success that resulted in the genome project expands beyond just targeting specific genes for the development of medicine. In the last 20 years researchers have been able to understand the gene regulating network, how to chemically modify DNA, and determine the many proteins that code for RNA's. This contribution to medical advancement does have a few drawbacks.
The major issue with the human genome is that it's not finished. Among the already sequenced DNA there are gaps in the template where roughly a 3 billion letter sequence is missing. Another issue also lies in the lack of diversity. While the template is composed of more than 60 peoples DNA it is said that it would take roughly 3 million Africans to complete the human sequence. It was in a recent study where 910 people of African descent did researchers find almost 300 million DNA bases that aren't in the reference. While researchers are looking to complete the sequence that represents human kind, scientists are still looking into other populations where new genetic variants can be uncovered to solve the lack of diversity problem in the template. Another issue with the genome is that there are gaps within the sequence. Using a new DNA deciphering technology called long-range sequencing allowed scientists to be able to read a human chromosome. Being able to read chromosomes is just as important to read and learn more about centromeres and how cell division goes wrong leading to cancers or genetic conditions.
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