¶ … Human Genome Project
Launched in 1990 as a collaborative initiative between the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Energy, the Human Genome Project completed its goal ahead of time despite the enormous challenges that were involved (Greene, 2006). The goals of the Human Genome Project included developing comprehensive genetic and physical maps of the human genome in order to determine the complete nucleotide sequence of the three billion base pairs that make up the human DNA and to identify the estimated 100,000 genes that are contained within the human genome (Greene, 2006). To determine the importance and implications of the HGP, this paper reviews the relevant literature, followed by a summary of the research and salient findings concerning this initiative in the conclusion.
Review and Discussion
1)
How will research in the Human Genome Project further medical research? What disorders are most likely to benefit from the project?
To date, the Human Genome Project has identified more than 1,800 disease genes which has facilitated research into the etiology of genetic diseases (Human Genome Project, 2015). The Project has enabled researchers to identify the genes that are suspected of causing diseases far more rapidly than in the past, and more than 2,000...
Translational medicine is a new discipline, which covers studies on basic science, on human investigations, non-human investigations, and translational research (Mankoff et al. 2004). Basic science studies address the biological effects of medicines on human beings. Studies on humans discover the biology of disease and serve as foundation for developing therapies. Non-human or non-clinical studies advance therapies for clinical use or use in human disease. And translational research refers to
Personalized medicine uses advanced and evolving understanding of genetics to make medical interventions safer and more effective. With genetic science, doctors are able to target medications and procedures for patients directly, creating an unprecedented "personalized" approach to medicine. Traditional allopathic medicine relies on empirical research that generalizes results for an entire population. This has led to problems related to patient side effects, some of which are serious. As the National
Personalized medicine as a field started developing in response to the recognition that every person is different in terms not only of genetic and genomic information, but also in terms of his or her clinical and environmental information. The fact that all these areas are different for each person means that each person would respond to illness in a different way, including the onset and duration of the condition. For
Transplant Medicine The Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) contains over 128 functional genes. This is the densest part of the human genome and is responsible for most autoimmune diseases. This region also determines vaccine responsiveness, adverse drug reactions, disease progression and transplant rejection. The MHC genes are multigenic with a high degree of allelic polymorphism. There are over 7,500 different alleles and over 5,458 expressed MHC antigens currently known. (DeFranco, Locksley &
This in turn leads to cytoplasmic water retention and the buildup of viscous mucus in the lungs and other areas of the body. This is particularly problematic for the lungs because the thick mucus impairs clearance of invasive particles and infectious agents to maintain a sterile environment. Microbial contamination of airway surfaces triggers an inflammatory response, including a massive invasion by neutrophils (Rodrigues et al., 2008). As the neutrophils react
IV. TESTING ON HUMANS The only thing that is lacking at this point according to all reports is for testing on humans to be completed. The Time Asia articles states: "The last step for the ace-2 inhibitor, as for any drug, is human clinical trials. Because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires such rigorous testing, this is by far the most expensive part of drug development. So for human trials
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now