Word: unravelled
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...That's just fine with some outside the scientific community, who fear the downside of genetic mapping may overshadow its benefits. If we're determined to unravel the mystery of genetic coding, aren't we opening a Pandora's box of ethical conundrums? If we know which genes lead to eye color, will we choose our children's appearance? Will insurance companies deny coverage to those with a genetic flaw? If we're capable of eliminating the genetic malfunctions that cause cystic fibrosis, for example, but only the richest among us can afford the procedure, are we paving...
That's why Herskowitz and his colleagues have launched a project to unravel exactly what--at the genetic level--makes some people benefit from drugs and others not. They suspect that one major factor is a class of proteins called membrane transporters. These proteins act as molecular gatekeepers, deciding which foreign substances in the bloodstream will be taken into and which rejected by individual cells. If, for example, people lack the gene for an inactivating enzyme, says Herskowitz, "a standard dose of a drug will be more potent. If they have an extra copy of the gene, a standard dose...
Although the details will take decades to unravel, the genetic evidence is coming in at a remarkable pace. In the months since Venter and Collins stood together at the White House last June, Celera scientists have rushed ahead and sequenced the genome of the mouse. Astonishingly, mouse and human genomes are almost identical, with only a few hundred genes separating...
...chief draw is the NIH, which dispenses $14 billion a year in research grants. But there are other attractions--proximity to Johns Hopkins, a start-up-friendly local government, an abundance of office space; and most of all, a critical mass of like-minded scientist-entrepreneurs determined to unravel the secrets of the genome and spin them into gold...
...person to the next. In Downey's case, it can't have helped that when he was six, he was given a joint by his filmmaker father (Downey Sr. has since expressed regret for that action). But without an understanding of individual biological differences, which scientists have yet to unravel, nobody can say whether those experiences turned Downey into an addict right from the start or whether repeated drug use over many years finally etched the circuits of self-destruction into his brain...