In just the past 25 years or so, new technologies like that for automated DNA sequencing have enabled us to begin to understand the language that encodes our biological lives. This is the language of the genome- in which our genes are sentences made up of DNA letters and words that are used as molecular instructions to each of our cells. What proteins should be made to build a heart muscle? What enzymes should be produced to control our blood sugar? What building blocks are needed to make new connections in our brains so that we remember what we’ve learned? Our current knowledge and understanding of the human genome is made possible by technological advances that scientists use to detect, measure, analyze, and compile new information obtained through experimentation in the field of molecular biology. We know what many of our genes are for; we also know some of what happens if a gene has a mistake in it, or is damaged. Such mutations can lead to innocuous individual variations, to inherited conditions, or to diseases like cancer, among others. It is this knowledge about specific genes that has allowed genetic tests to be developed that can predict the likelihood that you may develop certain diseases, like breast cancer.
On a broader level, complete genomes have been recorded from several individuals so that we know exactly what DNA sequences describe these people. The cost of compiling this information has ranged from $2.7 billion for the first one in 2003 to $1,500 today, according to Wired magazine’s online article, and is predicted to go even lower. As far as I can tell, even these numbers don’t take into account the time and cost of all the technological innovations required to enable researchers to do the work! But the idea that every one of us could soon have our own genome “read” so that we can learn more about our sensitivity to certain drugs, or about how effective our medications are likely to be, is the subject of new fields called pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics- perhaps better known as personalized medicine. These new fields address how your genes control the way you respond to certain drugs, and why different people (with genetic variations) will respond to a certain drug in different ways.
New technologies are going to be required to allow us to personalize our healthcare to adapt to our individual genetic variations. Inexpensive genome sequencers are in the works, and at NineSigma, I’ve seen an incredible variety of new medical devices and diagnostic technologies presented in response to challenges we’ve posted on behalf of global clients. What is especially exciting for me, and something that NineSigma prides itself on, is that we often find a technology from one area that may be relevant to a completely different industry. Advances in personalized medicine, while valuable and even essential for human health and well-being, might be applicable in other sectors. A tiny genetic lab-on-a-chip might be useful for an individual’s medical diagnosis, but may also be useful to detect microbial contamination in an industrial setting. As personalized medicine moves forward, this is an exciting time to be part of the innovation world!
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