"Humans have much the same genetic makeup as they did when they walked out of Africa," Eric Lander of the Whitehead Institute at M.I.T. told a symposium at Sanders Theatre. Staff photo by Jon Chase |
Scientists ponder sequence of genesGather at Harvard to ask "What's next?"April 5, 2001Researchers who work with the human genome aren't finding much variation in human genes despite the great diversity of people who populate our planet. Of course, there are variations in human genes, and that's where the important work lies. These variations account for such things as an individual's risk for heart problems and Alzheimer's disease, resistance to the AIDS virus, and whether a person will be born with type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, or any of a long list of other genetic maladies. Several speakers at a Harvard symposium in March mentioned a goal of putting together a catalog, or table, matching variations in human genes with the afflictions they underlie. Once such precise information becomes available, scientists would know what targets they must hit with drugs and other treatments. That kind of knowledge, notes one researcher, "would have a profound impact on the evolution of life on Earth." |
