Personal genetic profiles may be reality

August 6, 2005

Personal genetic profiles revealing a person's risk of disease, food intolerance and drug reactions could soon be a reality, says a Boston researcher.

George Church of the Harvard University Medical School in Boston said he read the entire genetic code, or genome, of the E.coli gut bacterium using off-the-shelf instruments -- an inexpensive microscope, a digital camera and fluorescent dyes, each of which binds to one of four DNA "letters" of the genetic code, the Daily Telegraph reported Friday.

Church said his ability to read DNA at a fraction of the normal cost indicates the cost of genetic technology could be reduced.

"These developments give the feeling that improvements are coming very quickly," said Church.

A person's genetic code helps identify genetic risk factors for diseases such as cancer and allow drugs to be tailored to suit an individual's particular genetic make-up.

Church's findings are published in Science.

Rate this story - not rated yet

rank
1
2
3
4
5

view popular

Other News

Obama science advisers grilled over hacked e-mails

Other Sciences / Other

Dec 03, 2009 | 2.3 / 5 (3) | 13

(AP) -- House Republicans pointed to controversial e-mails leaked from climate scientists and said it was evidence of corruption. Top administration scientists looking at the same thing found no such sign, saying it doesn't ...

Santa's Sleigh: NC State Researcher Explains Science Behind St. Nick?s Christmas Magic

Santa's Sleigh: Researcher Explains Science Behind St. Nick's Christmas Magic

Other Sciences / Other

Dec 02, 2009 | 4.9 / 5 (18) | 6

(PhysOrg.com) -- Santa skeptics have long considered St. Nick’s ability to deliver toys to the world’s good girls and boys in the course of one night a scientific impossibility. But new research shows that ...

Britain shuts down UFO-hunting unit

Other Sciences / Other

Dec 04, 2009 | 3.8 / 5 (5) | 5

The British government has shut a unit which has investigated UFO sightings for more than 50 years, judging its resources better spent on more earthly threats, it said Friday.

Are the effects of pornography negligible?

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

Dec 01, 2009 | 4.2 / 5 (19) | 5

A Université de Montréal researcher, funded by the Interdisciplinary Research Center on Family Violence and Violence Against Women, has launched a new study to examine the effects of pornography on men. "We ...

Male and female shopping strategies show evolution at work in the mall

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

Dec 02, 2009 | 4 / 5 (13) | 2

Male and female shopping styles are in our genes---and we can look to evolution for the reason. Daniel Kruger, research faculty at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, says it's perfectly natural that men often ...