Word: proteins
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Beyond that, knowing the code for a gene doesn't mean you know what protein it produces in the body, or what that protein does, or how it interacts with other proteins--vital information if you want to know how the genetic code locked in our cells ends up constructing and maintaining a fully functioning human being...
...expert, he wanted to learn more about a gene known to be involved in adult-onset (Type II) diabetes and obesity. He knew that the gene was about 100,000 chemical letters--or base pairs--long, and that only about 2,000 of those directed the production of a protein...
Hidden somewhere in the remaining 98,000 base pairs are instructions that govern how much protein gets churned out--an essential clue for developing eventual treatments for diabetics. But before the public project's data began going up on GenBank, finding the hidden code would have been a daunting task. "To isolate the DNA and do all the sequencing would have taken a highly trained Ph.D. a year or two," says Altshuler, "an ungodly, unacceptable amount of work...
Even before they finished decoding the human genome, scientists began the next and far more challenging step in explaining the molecular underpinnings of life. It's called proteomics--the cataloging and analysis of every protein in the human body...
...proteins that go bad and cause disease," he said. "All modern pharmaceuticals act at level of protein. None of that info is there in the book of life if you will...