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| A Future Hand Held Biochip Reader |
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In the mid 1990's, a patient who is at the
risk of inheriting a breast cancer, hears of a new breast-cancer-related gene, BRCA1. She is worried about getting
breast cancer and desires to know whether she herself carries a mutation in the gene's code. A blood sample
is taken and sent to a top notch genetic research center, where the gene is analyzed. Results are available weeks
later. In the late 1990s, another patient seeks the same information. This time a blood sample is taken and is sent to a sequencing
laboratory at a university-based medical center. This medical facility already has the reagents required to amplify BRCA1.
Test results are available days later. In the 21st century, a third patient seeks similar information. Results are available
at a nearby clinic a few minutes later. The testing is performed by a biochip. This and many more expectations are held
high in regards to the future potentials of the biochip.
Today biochips have tens of thousands of probes,
each with a length of 10 to 15 bases. "Such an array is sufficient to test an individual gene throughout all or part of its
length for single-base variations from the gene's usual sequence". IThe biochips produced by Affymetrix detect single-base
variations in the human genes "BRCA1 and BRCA2 (breast-cancer-related), p53 (a tumor suppressor gene
mutated in many forms of cancer), and P450 (coding for a key liver enzyme system that metabolizes drugs)". Some biochips
have the ability to analyze the genome of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) for variations within the code for the viral
protease and reverse transcriptase. The intent is to help predict drug resistances of a given patient's viral strain.
In the future it is hoped that through biochips' acceleration
of the gathering of data, biochips will assist in connecting genetic variation, gene expression, and protein levels with a
patient's clinical status, prognosis, and responsiveness to treatment. Now the plan is to try and link medical care to
a patient's genetic makeup. This is called pharmacogenomics(As talked about before). Expected biochips will also test for a variety of pathogens. Biochips much like those already being
used for the analysis of human genes such as BRCA1, BRCA2, p53, and P450 will soon find differences for
other tests.
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