A top twitter!
Last week I read an interesting tweet highlighting the significance of family history and health, and how our understanding of genome sequencing will potentially influence and inform health care in the future. Ian Sample, Science correspondent for the Guardian, reported on 10th March, ‘Genomes of an entire family sequenced in world first’.
In brief, scientists at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle have sequenced the entire genomes of four family members. Researchers then used this information to pinpoint genes responsible for diseases affecting the family. The American family of four is described as unusual because the parents are healthy but their two children have inherited two rare medical conditions, Miller’s syndrome and primary ciliary dyskinesia.
Writing in the journal Science the researchers report that being able to identify the defective gene for many diseases will aid diagnosis as well as the arrangement of appropriate counselling for patients and family members. They also suggest that ‘in the future, everyone is likely to have a full genome sequence in their medical records, making familial genetic comparisons easier’.
Perhaps an opportunity here for engaging the public in debate about the implications of full genome sequencing and the advancement of genomics within health care?
- Kim Madden
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