We've Sequenced the Human Genome. So Why Haven't We Cured More Diseases?

Unlocking the blueprint to human life was a big step for biology. But most diseases are too complex to pin to a single gene.

By Ari Berkowitz, The Conversation
Feb 12, 2020 7:00 PMFeb 12, 2020 7:07 PM
Gene Editing
Early proponents of genome sequencing made misleading predictions about its potential in medicine. (Credit: vchal/Shutterstock)

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An emergency room physician, initially unable to diagnose a disoriented patient, finds on the patient a wallet-sized card providing access to his genome, or all his DNA. The physician quickly searches the genome, diagnoses the problem and sends the patient off for a gene-therapy cure. That’s what a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist imagined 2020 would look like when she reported on the Human Genome Project back in 1996.

A New Era in Medicine?

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