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Breakthrough of the Year
By Richard | December 31, 2007
Human Genetic Variation: Science’s ‘Breakthrough Of The Year’
ScienceDaily.com
ScienceDaily (Dec. 31, 2007) — In 2007, researchers were dazzled by the degree to which genomes differ from one human to another and began to understand the role of these variations in disease and personal traits. Science and its publisher, AAAS, the nonprofit science society, recognize “Human Genetic Variation” as the Breakthrough of the Year, and identify nine other of the year’s most significant scientific accomplishments.
“For years we’ve been hearing about how similar people are to one another and even to other apes,” said Robert Coontz, deputy news editor for physical sciences who managed the selection process. “In 2007, advances on several fronts drove home for the first time how much DNA differs from person to person, too. It’s a huge conceptual leap that will affect everything from how doctors treat diseases to how we see ourselves and protect our privacy.”
The genomes of several individuals have already been sequenced. As technologies advance, many of us will have some, perhaps all, of our own genomes sequenced and will be able to learn the diseases for which we are at risk. MORE
Topics: Research |