From this information, it may be possible for some
to follow the information we have about the
Tissue Nonspecific Alkaline Phosphatase gene,
which we know to be the cause of Hypophosphatasia."
"Few people
would likely disagree that,
once we learn how,
genetically preventing tragic diseases would be acceptable,
if not prescribed."
-- Dr. Philip Kitcher --
"The Lives To Come:
The Genetic Revolution
and Human Possibilities"
INTO THE FUTURE ----
Two scientific teams finished transcribing humanity's genetic code earlier this year, giving us a detailed owner's manual for the human body. Writing down that code is considered among the greatest breakthroughs in the history of science. . . . researchers don't know what most of the code actually means. It must still be deciphered. The next great goal of science is to figure out how our 30,000 genes work together to make a human being. And Toronto experts are at the forefront of that quest.
Inside Canada's Genetic Heartland
T.O. scientists are cracking nature's code
Glass slides are the keys to our genetic kingdom, each smaller than a business card and crusted with 32,000 specks -- all dots of DNA.
Made with a precision beyond human hands, they're the work of a robot. And, like it or not, they'll soon be a basic part of health care. Most of us can expect a "biochip" in our future, laying bare our unique genetic structure for easy analysis.
--- Going by various names --- Gene Chip, biochip, a microarray --- these slides offer dramatic new perspectives on hidden codes driving our cells.
Thousands of such chips have already been made, just on University Ave. And many thousands more are produced daily in labs around the world.
"It's taking off," says Neil Winegarden, a manager at the University Health Network's microarray centre in Toronto . . . The microarray centre is located in Canada's genetic science heartland -- an area contained within a four-block radius drawn from the intersection of University Ave. and College St. Inside that circle stand the University of Toronto, five of the country's leading hospitals, and a host of upstart biotech firms.
This heartland contains a renowned "library" of more than 5 million frozen gene samples, the world's foremost computerized gene database, and an army of researchers performing genetic experiments on a daily basis.
