Although there are many "kinks" to work out, the field of genetics has come a long way. I think that personalized medicine holds high hopes for future generations. It would be incredible to create those personalized health plans based on a person's genetic make up. More funding should be put into this field as many more discoveries will come out of it. There has just been a realization of the true diversity of the human genome. Variations are much more common then originally thought. Drugs could be much more effective if more was known about these variations. The field of healthcare could be dramatically changed if these variations could be analyzed more thoroughly. As the article says, people who have undiagnosed conditions could be saved the financial burden and agony if more was known about their unique genetic make up. As of now a personalized genome will not do much good for an individual because geneticists do not have the "genomic foundation" necessary to determine the individuals life health plan. For this reason, I think that this should become an important focal point in healthcare.
Our current understanding of the field of genetics is very simplistic and superficial. As the field progresses our understanding of the diversity and benefits of individual genetic sequencing become more apparent. The possibility of personalized medicine based upon each individuals personal genetic sequence offers the possibility of treating the patient as a unique individual as opposed to a member of a generic group. This would offer specialized treatment eliminating unnecessary expenses and burden. This reminds me of a type of genetic testing already in use for specific diagnosis and treatment of cancer. When one is diagnosed with cancer a biopsy of the cancer is taken and a genetic sequencing of its cells is performed. By examining the genetic sequence it is possible to determine what specific type of chemotherapy would best target the cancer cells while causing minimal side effects.
Evan's right. For example see this article from this weekend: NYTimes: Drugs Aim to Make Several Types of Cancer Self-Destruct
Three pharmaceutical firms are trying to restore a mechanism that normally tells cells to die if their DNA is badly damaged, an approach that might work against half of all cancers. http://nyti.ms/XZS1PB
The field of genetics has been opened wide for study in recent years; showing the shortcomings of the tools we are currently using. Currently, we are using very basic genetic tools created over 10 years ago when we believed that genetic differences in sequences were rare. However, we now that that rare is the new normal. Achieving the creation of this new individualized medicine will need better reference resources and standardized methods for using them. But with our new and developing understanding of genetics; we will hopefully have more effective medicine soon enough; especially with the new DNA sequencing system being developed. In the end, I hope these new developments will create more efficient medications for each individuals genetics.
The realm of biology and genetics is always expanding and developing. It is important that as it changes we also change our understanding of it. Personalized medicine can open many doors to the future of healthcare. Personalized medication will allow us to tailor the care given to each patient based on their genetics. This could potentially improve the efficacy and safety of medications given to patients. However, in order to do this we must first better understand the diversity of human genomes. In order for this to happen there needs to be more investment put into this project, which currently is not happening. Once insurers start putting more towards this research major changes will start developing and will hopefully create more effective medications for each individual patient.
As the field of genetics expands more is learned about the human genome. I think that we can only benefit from the study of personal genomes. Even though not everything can be worked out immediately there is still a broad future ahead for genetics. Science takes time to perfect and many experiments must be performed in order to work out all the problems. As more human genomes are sequenced they can better understand them. Hopefully this will lead to be able to have a more personalized and efficient medicines based on the patients needs. I can only see this benefitting medicine.
I have to agree that we dont know as much about the human geonome as we should and this may contribute to why we have not found a cure for some illnesses. I think that a good idea would be to look at how the geonome is structured in more detail so that we can figure out why the mutations occur. This would hopefully let us find an efficient treatment for things like cancer. I think that it is possible that each person with the different squencing could need a different treatment and that knowing more about the geonome would be the key. With more knowledge of the geonome we can get closer to individual treatment.
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ReplyDeleteAlthough there are many "kinks" to work out, the field of genetics has come a long way. I think that personalized medicine holds high hopes for future generations. It would be incredible to create those personalized health plans based on a person's genetic make up. More funding should be put into this field as many more discoveries will come out of it. There has just been a realization of the true diversity of the human genome. Variations are much more common then originally thought. Drugs could be much more effective if more was known about these variations. The field of healthcare could be dramatically changed if these variations could be analyzed more thoroughly. As the article says, people who have undiagnosed conditions could be saved the financial burden and agony if more was known about their unique genetic make up. As of now a personalized genome will not do much good for an individual because geneticists do not have the "genomic foundation" necessary to determine the individuals life health plan. For this reason, I think that this should become an important focal point in healthcare.
ReplyDeleteOur current understanding of the field of genetics is very simplistic and superficial. As the field progresses our understanding of the diversity and benefits of individual genetic sequencing become more apparent. The possibility of personalized medicine based upon each individuals personal genetic sequence offers the possibility of treating the patient as a unique individual as opposed to a member of a generic group. This would offer specialized treatment eliminating unnecessary expenses and burden. This reminds me of a type of genetic testing already in use for specific diagnosis and treatment of cancer. When one is diagnosed with cancer a biopsy of the cancer is taken and a genetic sequencing of its cells is performed. By examining the genetic sequence it is possible to determine what specific type of chemotherapy would best target the cancer cells while causing minimal side effects.
ReplyDeleteEvan's right. For example see this article from this weekend: NYTimes: Drugs Aim to Make Several Types of Cancer Self-Destruct
DeleteThree pharmaceutical firms are trying to restore a mechanism that normally tells cells to die if their DNA is badly damaged, an approach that might work against half of all cancers. http://nyti.ms/XZS1PB
The field of genetics has been opened wide for study in recent years; showing the shortcomings of the tools we are currently using. Currently, we are using very basic genetic tools created over 10 years ago when we believed that genetic differences in sequences were rare. However, we now that that rare is the new normal. Achieving the creation of this new individualized medicine will need better reference resources and standardized methods for using them. But with our new and developing understanding of genetics; we will hopefully have more effective medicine soon enough; especially with the new DNA sequencing system being developed. In the end, I hope these new developments will create more efficient medications for each individuals genetics.
ReplyDeleteThe realm of biology and genetics is always expanding and developing. It is important that as it changes we also change our understanding of it. Personalized medicine can open many doors to the future of healthcare. Personalized medication will allow us to tailor the care given to each patient based on their genetics. This could potentially improve the efficacy and safety of medications given to patients. However, in order to do this we must first better understand the diversity of human genomes. In order for this to happen there needs to be more investment put into this project, which currently is not happening. Once insurers start putting more towards this research major changes will start developing and will hopefully create more effective medications for each individual patient.
ReplyDeleteAs the field of genetics expands more is learned about the human genome. I think that we can only benefit from the study of personal genomes. Even though not everything can be worked out immediately there is still a broad future ahead for genetics. Science takes time to perfect and many experiments must be performed in order to work out all the problems. As more human genomes are sequenced they can better understand them. Hopefully this will lead to be able to have a more personalized and efficient medicines based on the patients needs. I can only see this benefitting medicine.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree that we dont know as much about the human geonome as we should and this may contribute to why we have not found a cure for some illnesses. I think that a good idea would be to look at how the geonome is structured in more detail so that we can figure out why the mutations occur. This would hopefully let us find an efficient treatment for things like cancer. I think that it is possible that each person with the different squencing could need a different treatment and that knowing more about the geonome would be the key. With more knowledge of the geonome we can get closer to individual treatment.
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