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YeonJung Mun

2,111 bytes added, 05:55, 15 May 2015
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<h1><span style="font-size: x-large"><b>Genomics</b></span></h1><p>Genomics is the study of the whole genetic system involving the sequencing of DNA, analyzing structure and function of genes, and more.</p><h3>The Human Cancer Genome Project</h3><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A group of scientists works on a megaproject which aims to catalog all somatic mutations from primary tumors. By detecting major oncogenes and regulatory regions, clinical treatment can be applied in order to fight cancer. By this way, there would be less or none gene products of mutated regions, thus suppressing cancer.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; However, questions arise: are primary tumors the appropriate focus for the cure and therapeutic use for cancer? Experiments of treatment intervening in cancer networks at a single oncoprotein or tumor suppressor protein have bought mixed results. The approach was affective in some types of cancers, but the most deadly ones like breast, prostate, and lung cancer, the effect was rather insignificant. Therefore, the author of this paper doubts this megaproject because of two main reasons. First, even though curing primary tumor-related gene is effective, it is unlikely to eradicate cells that have already left the tumor and that are evolving along different genomic trajectories. Second, evidences on the effects of methylation changes on tumors and relevance between aneuploidy and caner are increasing. These study areas might be alternative breakthroughs.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In conclusion, as the author says that &ldquo;the human cancer genome project is fundamentally flawed&rdquo;, questions remain for the role of genomics in cancer treatment. Would they still take the big part in cancer treatments? Or was the cancer genome project just a waste of effort? The answers can be disputable depending on situations, but I still believe that the project was significant. Thanks to the work, the information of cancer-causing gene and its regulatory sites have been discovered. While the appliance to clinical use is uncertain, the study was worth a shot.<br />&nbsp;</p>
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<h1>Transcriptomics</h1>
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