With research going forward at a virtual breakneck pace in the field of genome technology and genetic coding, it is not surprising that scientists are making remarkable progress in finding out new genes and their specific functions each day. An international team of scientists has made the revelation that they have identified & isolated the gene that is responsible for most lung cancer deaths in the world.
NKX2-1 is the gene that controls the activity of Alveoli in the lungs. These are the tiny bags in the lung that individually help the process of breathing. It is know to scientists now that an absence of this gene in rats, at the time of birth can lead to immediate death as they cannot breathe without it.
Hence, the scientists have isolated this gene & a mutation in it with time has been determined as the reason for the most common lung cancer. This study on the most common form of lung cancer, namely Adenocarcinoma, found nearly 57 changes associated with genes.
While before the isolation of NKX2-1, only 15 genes were already known to play a part in the various types of lung cancer. Now the researchers claim that this particular gene is responsible for the cancer & is solely associated with lung cancer. So what does this landmark discovery mean for the common man?
Now, we can find the best & precise medicine to treat lung cancer as we have identified the cause with precision. Scientists already claim that this means we can treat even lung cancer with Herceptin, commonly used to teat breast cancer very successfully.
Dr. Myerson who spoke on behalf of the team to media said that the next stage of analysis of gene mutations for lung cancer was underway. He told that in fact, a major part has been completed but they still had to consolidate their findings. This Tumor Sequencing Project aims at laying the foundation for larger work in future which will lead to successfully dealing with cancers of all forms.
Genome technology and genetic sequencing is not only a challenging & exciting field for those involved but also seems to be churning out some very exciting results for all of humanity.
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