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Genome research: discovery as an everyday event Genome research: discovery as an everyday event
(6 months later)
On Tuesday, US researchers confirmed the mixed ancestry of that icon of the American range, the Texas longhorn: its DNA came from cattle from Europe and the Middle East, and from the Indian subcontinent. On Wednesday one team of researchers published the genetic sequence of the mountain pine beetle, a voracious pest that has so far destroyed more than 15m hectares of forest in North America, and another did the same for the western painted turtle, an air-breathing creature that can survive four months under water. On Thursday, Nature Genetics reported on the genetic "spelling mistakes" identified in 100,000 patients with breast, ovarian and prostate cancer, and today the journal Science tried to identify simple principles that might connect more than 140 genes so far associated with the growth of tumours.On Tuesday, US researchers confirmed the mixed ancestry of that icon of the American range, the Texas longhorn: its DNA came from cattle from Europe and the Middle East, and from the Indian subcontinent. On Wednesday one team of researchers published the genetic sequence of the mountain pine beetle, a voracious pest that has so far destroyed more than 15m hectares of forest in North America, and another did the same for the western painted turtle, an air-breathing creature that can survive four months under water. On Thursday, Nature Genetics reported on the genetic "spelling mistakes" identified in 100,000 patients with breast, ovarian and prostate cancer, and today the journal Science tried to identify simple principles that might connect more than 140 genes so far associated with the growth of tumours.
What is startling about such research is how ordinary it has become. The structure of DNA was revealed 60 years ago . It was more than 20 years before anyone understood how to decipher the genetic code, and more than 30 years before anyone dreamed of compiling the entire 3bn-letter sequence of a human being. When the Human Genome Project was completed in April 2003, it was hailed as biology's equivalent of the moon landing. Ten years on, what began as costly, painstaking and uncertain science has become commonplace.What is startling about such research is how ordinary it has become. The structure of DNA was revealed 60 years ago . It was more than 20 years before anyone understood how to decipher the genetic code, and more than 30 years before anyone dreamed of compiling the entire 3bn-letter sequence of a human being. When the Human Genome Project was completed in April 2003, it was hailed as biology's equivalent of the moon landing. Ten years on, what began as costly, painstaking and uncertain science has become commonplace.
Researchers now have the entire genomes of more than 4,000 species – pathogens such as salmonella, leprosy and tuberculosis, parasites such as the malaria plasmodium, insects such as the fruit fly and the malarial mosquito, crops such as maize, the grape and the golden delicious apple, mammals such as the dog, the African elephant, the laboratory mouse and the chimpanzee. One consortium is comparing the genetic texts of a thousand human beings; another is assembling all the variations that might explain differing susceptibilities to disease, and differing responses to the same drugs; a third is using inherited markers to build up a detailed picture of the great journey of homosapiens out of Africa 70,000 years ago to colonise almost the entire world.Researchers now have the entire genomes of more than 4,000 species – pathogens such as salmonella, leprosy and tuberculosis, parasites such as the malaria plasmodium, insects such as the fruit fly and the malarial mosquito, crops such as maize, the grape and the golden delicious apple, mammals such as the dog, the African elephant, the laboratory mouse and the chimpanzee. One consortium is comparing the genetic texts of a thousand human beings; another is assembling all the variations that might explain differing susceptibilities to disease, and differing responses to the same drugs; a third is using inherited markers to build up a detailed picture of the great journey of homosapiens out of Africa 70,000 years ago to colonise almost the entire world.
The Human Genome Project was launched by scientists who wanted to understand inherited diseases such as cystic fibrosis, and was driven by teams who believed that they could find new ways to treat heart disease and reduce deaths from cancer. It is one thing to deliver all the data; quite another to understand its significance and explore its intricacy. DNA research reveals unexpected things about evolutionary connections, and about human identity. It is a work in progress, an adventure that becomes more astonishing with time.The Human Genome Project was launched by scientists who wanted to understand inherited diseases such as cystic fibrosis, and was driven by teams who believed that they could find new ways to treat heart disease and reduce deaths from cancer. It is one thing to deliver all the data; quite another to understand its significance and explore its intricacy. DNA research reveals unexpected things about evolutionary connections, and about human identity. It is a work in progress, an adventure that becomes more astonishing with time.
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