IN 2010, doctors may treat you for conditions such as cancer and heart
disease even before they appear. The sequencing of the human genome will lead to
a fundamental shift towards preventive medicine.
It’s all down to knowing what our genes are up to. “If we identify the genes
involved, we can look at the pathways controlled by those genes, and try to
develop rational treatments based on this knowledge,” says Nick Hastie, director
of the Medical Research Council’s Human Genetics Unit in Edinburgh. That means
drugs can be designed to correct the cause of a disease.
“At the moment, we know how a change in…
