Genome study points to new cures, drugs

New studies of the human genetic blueprint to be released later today look set to revolutionise the treatment of illness and disease. The findings have delivered a number of surprises, but ultimately these discoveries should bring cures and better drug treatments.

Details of the research will be published later today in Washington, London, Berlin, Paris and Tokyo by the two groups engaged in the work, the Human Genome Project and Celera Genomics Corporation. They are publishing their findings in two of the world's leading science journals, Nature and Science.

The research has given an unprecedented view of the construct of life and the genetic code that allows it to exist, DNA. Studies of the genome and its genes will bring great changes to the practice of medicine and the development of new drugs.

Having announced the completion of their step-by-step catalogues of the genetic code last June, the two groups today present their initial analysis of what the code contains. The research papers show that the genome offers information about disease processes, how cancers emerge and the evolution of life.

Extraordinary discoveries have been made, chief among them the finding that humans have just 30,000 to 40,000 genes and not the assumed 100,000 to 140,000.

The finding has prompted speculation about how something as complex as a human could be achieved with so few genes. Dr Craig Venter, the Celera president, has suggested the finding shows that environment and external influences must have a more powerful effect on human growth than internal genetic factors.

Finding the meaning behind the genome will ultimately provide new ways to diagnose and treat disease.

A Science paper will detail the identification of clusters of genes associated with different cancers. Another looks at the possibility of identifying behavioural patterns in genes.

The researchers found that about 95 per cent of the genome seems to do nothing at all. Much of this is repeated sections of DNA but also apparent "junk" DNA, with the genes scattered throughout.

The studies show that there is a remarkable duplication of genetic material between very different species. Worms and insects have many genes identical to those found in humans. It also appears that humans have acquired many essential genes directly from bacteria and viruses.

The genome has also revealed evidence of how humans diverged from monkeys 25 million years ago. Commonality between the two species was broken long ago, but the shared background can still be read in "historic" DNA, now latent but still included in the genome.