OTD in 2001, Science News reported that the genetic blueprints of humans had been deciphered, and the text was 'as striking for what we don't see as for what we do.' SN100
“I think that this is a race with no losers,” says Celera president, J. Craig Venter. “We were climbing a mountain to see what was on the other side.” Now, with the entire human genetic ensemble on view, scientists are poring over it in search of hints about evolutionary history, physiology, and disease vulnerability.
Access to the data from the public consortium’s sequence is now freely available on the Internet . Celera also is offering some of its data for free , but the company charges subscription fees for more complete access., George M. Church of the Lipper Center for Computational Genetics in Boston reports that he found only minor differences when he compared the two sequences. “The thing I found most surprising is how similar they are. You could imagine using either version,” he says.
“There’s a lesson in humility in this,” Lander adds. “When we get past our wounded dignity, we realize there are some deep scientific questions to grapple with,” such as how people manage with such a modest complement of genes. “It also seems that we really can’t take credit for all our genes,” remarks Lander. “The sequence tells us that we received more than 200 genes as gifts from bacteria that somehow infected a distant ancestor of ours and transferred some DNA.”As details of the human genome help fill in our evolutionary past, scientists in every field of biology will search the new genetic text for ways to better our future.
For example, in the next 5 years, researchers will begin finding genes that play a role in addiction, predicts Eric J. Nestler of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. In the past, researchers had found addiction-related “hot spots” along chromosomes, but they had not identified which genes in those regions might be the culprits. They didn’t even know what genes were in those regions, Nestler points out.
The new data coming out of the human genome sequence could also benefit people who have sleep disorders or work the night shift. Using traditional methods, researchers have found eight “clock genes” that have a role in the body’s timekeeping mechanism, which regulates hormones, body temperature, and sleeping patterns, says Jonathan D. Clayton of the University of Leicester in England.
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