Human Genome Analysis to predict Development of illnesses?

Source: Bioinformatics news portal

The GARBAN project, drawn up by Navarre University, will enable the identification of therapeutic targets for cancer, depression and hepatitis.

The School of Engineering at Navarre University and its Centre for Technical Studies and Research in Gipuzkoa (CEIT) have launched an advanced biochemical analysis tool that will help in predicting the evolution of diseases, accelerate their diagnosis and identify new therapeutic targets for ailments such as cancer, depression and hepatitis.

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DNAMicro is a genetics and DNA microarray specialist in hyderabad, India.

Here is a link to the Bioinformatics News Portal, which brings the latest News, Articles, and Online resources to your screen.

This article is about is about Micro arrays and how this tool can be used to further understand our genetic code.
DNA Microarray technology makes use of the sequence information available from the genome projects and other sequencing efforts to answer the questions like, what genes are expressed in a particular cell type of an organism, at a particular time, under a particular condition.

What do Micro Arrays do for disease analysis?
Microarray analysis will improve our understanding of diagnosis and prognosis. Using microarrays gives scientists great potential for discovering new classes of tumors, and for predicting how tumors may respond to therapy.

Could also be used for SNP analysis

Here is the Website http://www.dnamicroarrays.info/

Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms

SNPs are DNA variations that occur within a single nucleotide (A,T,C,G), and the genome sequence is altered.

The genetic code is specified by the four nucleotide letters: A (adenine), C (cytosine), T (Thymine), G (guanine). A SNP varriator occurs when one nucleotide, such as an A, replaces one of the other nucleotides.


There is a SNP Consortium (TSC) including 10 pharmaceutical compnaies which are in the process of mapping these SNPs.

SNPs are important to understand because they may be the cause of varition which leads to disease, or are atleast signposts on the gene for pinpointing a certain disease.

They are valuable to study because of their frequency and even distribution through the genome.

SNP patterns are extremely useful as well. "To create a genetic test that will screen for a disease in which the disease-causing gene has already been identified, scientists collect blood samples from a group of individuals affected by the disease and analyze their DNA for SNP patterns.
Next, researchers compare these patterns to patterns obtained by analyzing the DNA from a group of individuals unaffected by the disease. This type of comparison, called an "association study," can detect differences between the SNP patterns of the two groups, thereby indicating which pattern is most likely associated with the disease-causing gene. Eventually, SNP profiles that are characteristic of a variety of diseases will be established. Then, it will only be a matter of time before physicians can screen individuals for susceptibility to a disease just by analyzing their DNA samples for specific SNP patterns."

Some Facts

Scientific Data:

IMPORTANT TERMS

What is a Gene? Genes are part of DNA. They contain the codes for how to make proteins.

Amino Acids are the molecular units, or building blocks that make up proteins.

Proteins make up the bulk of cellular structure, and some act as enzymes for catalyzing cellular reactions.

The DNA sequence "says" in what order or way to make the protien-- this is called gene expression
The DNA also controls how much of a protein and under what circumstances that protein is produced.

Some proteins made by genes are required in all cells in the body