Year of Genetics

Compared to other areas of science, the history of genetics is relatively short. This means that there are vast amounts of genetic phenomena which are still unknown.  This is very exciting, because it means that we are living in an age where we can experience breakthroughs in science which can impact a wide range of people, in real time. Every year we have seen new discoveries in genetics, and the last twelve months have been no exception.

Personally, I feel the biggest breakthrough in genetics this year has been how genetics is becoming part of mainstream awareness, and terms like ‘Spike protein’, ‘T-cells’, ‘antibodies’, ‘viral variant’ and more have become common in everyday language. This is in part due to scientists and medical professionals and some politicians who have made it their duty to help the public understand the complexity of the pandemic, epidemiology, and public health guidelines in a way that anyone can understand.

It is no surprise that a lot of the breakthroughs this year are regarding coronavirus. From research into how and why different people are affected by the virus to using mRNA to rapidly create vaccines and globally distribute them safely. This rapid advancement of emergency vaccines has made inoculations development ‘as easy as updating software code’ using nothing but viral mRNA. This is critical if we ever need global and rapid vaccine production and distribution in the future.

Similarly, we are now able to predict protein structure based on DNA sequences alone. Proteins are the building blocks of our body and are working constantly to, for example, break down food, move your muscles, grow your hair, skin and nails, and control physiological processes for growth, development, metabolism, and reproduction. But the creation of these proteins is all down to our DNA, and the process to translate DNA strands into proteins is highly complex. Before this year, scientists had only been able to use DNA to predict a small number of protein’s structure. However, due to a newly established method called ‘machine learning technique’, we can make structural predictions for every protein in the human genome (between 80,000 and 400,000 proteins!). This is very important, because if we can predict what a proteins structure will be, we can, for example, create specialised drugs to target specific proteins, which can help support personalised healthcare for more people.

Another fascinating breakthrough this year has been scientists’ ability to extract DNA from air! Ordinarily, DNA extraction has been carried out by removing cells from a specimen (such as swabbing an individual’s inner cheek or blood) or from cells which we have left behind (such as hair or dust). Now, we can pull DNA which is floating in the air. This has been used by Queen Mary University of London to investigate species population in different areas.  It’s early days, but this DNA extraction may expand into other areas, such as in forensic investigation at crime scenes.

However, not all scientific discoveries are to do with ‘creating’. Some are doing the opposite and proving that things cannot be created. Since the discovery of CRISP-R gene editing, a method to modify an organism’s DNA sequence, it has been used in biomedicine to treat infection, cancer, diabetes, HIV and more. However, there is concern that CRISP-R could be used for other things, such as attempting to create a theme park of dinosaurs…sound familiar? Well, don’t worry, a real-life Jurassic Park does not seem to be a worry, as this year scientists have shown that CRISP-R gene editing cannot be used to bring back an extinct species.

I find genetics fascinating, and love to keep up to date on new research and breakthroughs. Genomics is applicable to every part of life and is becoming increasingly used in the healthcare system and implemented in mainstream healthcare. This means that the research scientists carry out is vital, and I have endless praise and admiration for the work that they do.

 

References

 

https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/our-favorite-genetics-stories-of-2021-69537

https://www.sciencedaily.com/news/health_medicine/genes/

https://www.nature.com/subjects/genetics

https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/2021-science-stories/

https://geneticsunzipped.com/blog/2021/10/21/strangest-genetics-stories-2021

https://www.sciencenews.org/topic/genetics

https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/genetics?CMP=ILC-refresh

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220502131346.htm

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220425121101.htm

 

Disclaimer

The information in this blog is for information and entertainment purposes only. I am not a medical professional, so I have never and will never give medical advice in this blog. You should always speak to a healthcare professional about your unique health needs. My opinions are entirely my own and do not reflect the organisations or people I work for. I only discuss published literature in this blog which are referenced with links.

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