PROFESSOR RAJENDRA PRASAD

Soon the database of the most common sequence variations that distinguish one person from another will be available. This knowledge base, freely available to any interested person over the Internet, will revolutionize biology and medicine. Considering the pace of research, it is now not very difficult to predict what one might expect in next 20-30 years. A virtually complete list of human gene products will provide a vast repertoire of potential new drugs. As a result, a vast number of drugs than what is presently available will have been identified, tested, and commercialized during coming decades. These will be manufactured by recombinant DNA technology, such as to be "reagent-grade pure," just as human insulin and growth hormone is today. People’s medical record will include their complete genome as well as a catalogue of single base-pair variations that can be used to accurately predict patient responses to certain drugs and environmental substances. This will permit people to be treated as a biochemical and genetic individual, thus making medical interventions more specific, precise, and successful.