![]() ![]() Using highly labelled deoxynucleotides (single units of DNA) and DNA polymerase he found a way to sequence the terminal region of a DNA molecule. Ray Wu, a Chinese American biologist based at Cornell University, published one of the first methods for sequencing DNA in 1970. Scientists also lacked the means to degrade DNA which they needed for sequence analysis.Ī new chapter opened up in the 1960s with the emergence of techniques to sequence ribonucleic acid (RNA)s. In part this reflected the fact that small DNA molecules contain several thousands of nucleotides and it was difficult to obtain large quantities of homogeneous DNA. Drug developers are also using pharmacogenomic data to design drugs which can be targeted at subgroups of patients with specific genetic profiles.Īlthough scientists established DNA had a double helix structure in 1953, it was to be many more years before they could analyse DNA fragments. Individual genetic profiling is already being used routinely to prescribe therapies for patients with HIV, breast cancer, lymphoblastic leukaemia and colon cancer and in the future will be used to tailor treatments for cardiovascular disease, cancer, asthma, Alzheimer's disease and depression. Such labelling is not only important in terms of matching patients to their most appropriate drug, but also for working out what their drug dose should be and their level of risk in terms of adverse events. Over 140 drugs approved by the FDA now include pharmacogenomic information in their labelling. ![]() Such data is being used to determine which drug gives the best outcome in particular patients. Pharmacogenomics looks at how a person's individual genome variations affect their response to a drug. This is a relatively new field which is leading the way to more personalised medicine. It has for example provided an important tool for determining the thousands of nucleotide variations associated with specific genetic diseases, like Huntington's, which may help to better understand these diseases and advance treatment.ĭNA sequencing also underpins pharmacogenomics. Connections Werner Arber | Exhibition: Fred Sanger ImportanceĭNA sequencing played a pivotal role in mapping out the human genome, completed in 2003, and is an essential tool for many basic and applied research applications today. ![]()
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