Word: markers
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Composed of long chains of DNA containing perhaps 100,000 genes, the human genome is far too vast to analyze all at once. So scientists use special enzymes to chop the chromosomes into small manageable pieces and pick out small identifiable stretches -- called markers -- on each segment. When researchers are searching for a disease gene, they look for a marker that is common to all people who suffer from that ailment. If one is found, then the defective gene is probably located somewhere near that marker. The problem is that although the gene hunters know where the marker is located...
Last Friday afternoon, President Clinton talked in the Oval Office with TIME White House correspondents Margaret Carlson, James Carney and Michael Duffy. On Clinton's desk was a hardcover book, The Culture of Disbelief by Stephen L. Carter, with the jacket flap folded in as a place marker. He appeared relaxed and spoke softly...
...grader. The true master of the Generality is the person who can write as 10-page essay, which means nothing at all to that person, and have it mean a great deal to anyone who reads it. The Generality banks on the knowledge possessed by the grader, hoping the marker will read things into the essay...
...developed the disease. By comparing the DNA of the 40-odd family members who had tumors with the DNA of those who did not, the researchers hoped to detect a particular stretch of genes that could be linked to the disease. Such a unique pattern, called a genetic marker, would be a major step toward identifying the specific culprit gene. After discarding 344 potential markers, the scientists finally found one that fit the bill...
Just as important, the marker may lead to better screening tests. Early detection makes all the difference to colon-cancer patients. About 90% of people whose tumors are found early are still alive five years after their diagnosis. That figure plummets to less than 10% once the cancer has spread beyond the intestines. However, according to a recent study, the most widely used screening test, which detects blood in stool samples, misses more than 70% of all tumors...