Leq: What are the benefits of DNA Technology

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Leq What are the benefits of DNA Technology
the Human Genome Project?

• 12.13 to 12.20

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Gene Therapy

• Gene therapy is an experimental technique that
  uses genes to treat or prevent disease.
  Researchers are testing several approaches to
  gene therapy, including
• Replacing a mutated gene that causes disease with
  a healthy copy of the gene.
• Inactivating, or knocking out, a mutated gene
  that is functioning improperly.
• Introducing a new gene into the body to help
  fight a disease.
• Although gene therapy is a promising treatment
  option for a number of diseases (including
  inherited disorders, some types of cancer, and
  certain viral infections), the technique remains
  risky and is still under study to make sure that
  it will be safe and effective. Gene therapy is
  currently only being tested for the treatment of
  diseases that have no other cures.
• http//ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/therapy/genetherap
  y

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Gene Therapy

• A carrier molecule called a vector must be used
  to deliver the therapeutic gene to the patient's
  target cells. Currently, the most common vector
  is a virus that has been genetically altered to
  carry normal human DNA. Viruses have evolved a
  way of encapsulating and delivering their genes
  to human cells in a pathogenic manner. Scientists
  have tried to take advantage of this capability
  and manipulate the virus genome to remove
  disease-causing genes and insert therapeutic
  genes.

http//www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome
/medicine/genetherapy.shtml
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Polymerase Chain Reaction - PCR

• A technique used to obtain many copies of a DNA
  molecule or part of a DNA molecule.
• A small amount of DNA is mixed with DNA
  polymerase, DNA nucleotide, and Primers then
  subjected to cycles of heating and cooling to
  produce multiple copies of DNA.

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Human Genome Project

• Completed in 2003, the Human Genome Project (HGP)
  was a 13-year project coordinated by the U.S.
  Department of Energy and the National Institutes
  of Health. During the early years of the HGP, the
  Wellcome Trust (U.K.) became a major partner
  additional contributions came from Japan, France,
  Germany, China, and others.
• Project goals were to
• identify all the approximately 20,000-25,000
  genes in human DNA,
• determine the sequences of the 3 billion chemical
  base pairs that make up human DNA,
• store this information in databases,
• improve tools for data analysis,
• transfer related technologies to the private
  sector, and
• address the ethical, legal, and social issues
  (ELSI) that may arise from the project.
• Though the HGP is finished, analyses of the data
  will continue for many years
• http//www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome
  /home.shtml

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The Human Genome

• Estimated number of human genes?
• 20,000 25,000
• Regions that make up a human chromosome?
• DNA wraps around histone proteins to condense
  into a chromosome
• DNA regions include the following regions
  promoter, enhancer, introns, exons, noncoding DNA
  (between genes) and repetitive DNA regions

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Genomics

• Genomics is the study of the genomes of
  organisms. The field includes intensive efforts
  to determine the entire DNA sequence of organisms
  and fine-scale genetic mapping efforts.
• Genomics was established by Fred Sanger when he
  first sequenced the complete genomes of
  a virus and a mitochondrion. His group
  established techniques of sequencing, genome
  mapping, data storage, and bioinformatic analyses
  in the 1970-1980s.
• A major branch of genomics is still concerned
  with sequencing the genomes of various organisms,
  but the knowledge of full genomes has created the
  possibility for the field of functional genomics,
  mainly concerned with patterns of gene
  expression during various conditions.

http//www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Genomic
s.aspx
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Proteomics

• Proteomics studies the structure and function
  of proteins, the principal constituents of the
  protoplasm of all cells.
• What is a proteome?The word proteome is
  derived from PROTEins expressed by a genOME, and
  it refers to all the proteins produced by an
  organism, much like the genome is the entire set
  of genes. The human body may contain more than 2
  million different proteins, each having different
  functions. As the main components of the
  physiological pathways of the cells, proteins
  serve vital functions in the body 

http//www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resource
s/medical-science/genetics-molecular-medicine/curr
ent-topics/proteomics.page