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Old 04-25-2005, 01:59 PM   #10
cdcox cdcox is offline
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I do research on applying engineering principals to understanding biology at the genetic level. I am not an expert in molecular biology per se, but I've seen enough to know how complex these biological systems are and how very little we know about them.

Suppose you were an alien from another planet and wanted to learn about human civilization. You chose to study NYC. Well, our progress so far (sequencing the human genome) is that we have the white pages telephone book for NYC. We know peoples addresses and telephone numbers. We also have a map that shows where addresses are located. In a few cases we know what is going on at an address because we know what a florist is, what a doctor is, and what a deli is, etc. This is called gene annotation. But other things we aren't as sure about. For example is Barnes and Smith a law office, accountants, or an engineering firm? To really understand things we need to know which individuals work at which jobs. Not much clue at all here, the white pages just doesn't tell us that. Now to cure a disease, we need to know why Bob was late for his dinner date with Sally. How in the heck are you going to figure that out from the white pages, if you have zero other knowledge of human beings? In other words, we have a long way to go.

Cures may be found for many diseases in the next 30 years, but there are no hidden cures for diseases, with the possible exception of biological warefare agents, of which I have zero specific knowledge. At least in that case someone would have a rational (if immoral) reason for keeping the cure silent.
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