Quest for the Code of Life (1997)

the city of Cambridge with its renowned university has a rich and bountiful scientific tradition it was here that Sir Isaac Newton formulated his theories on gravity and here too that James Watson and Francis Crick determined the double helix structure of DNA today at hingston on the outskirts of Cambridge a group of scientists are engaged on a project of such significance it's been described as the biological equivalent of landing on the moon or splitting the atom in the Tranquil cambrid Countryside a group of pioneers are decoding the very essence of life itself and in the process they're radically changing our understanding of what makes us prone to disease their work may lead to new treatments for genetic disorders such as IC fibrosis and offers hope in the fight against cancer in the grounds of hingston Hall the new welcome trust genome campus has been created to ensure the UK is at the Forefront of This Global Enterprise the campus is home to the European bioinformatics Institute the human genome mapping project resource center and the sang Center here in the sang Center over 300 staff equipped with the very latest technology are working Round the Clock to meet their ambitious goal of decoding more than a sixth of the human genome by the year 2002 every animal cell contains a number of chromosomes tightly coiled spirals of deoxy ribonucleic acid or DNA when cells divide each chromosome is duplicated the duplicates then separate to form two new cells the DNA molecule contains the code of life it consists of four chemicals or bases guanine thyine cytosine and adenine long sequences of DNA bases form instructions called genes if DNA is the genetic alphabet then genes are the meaningful sentences that convey important information every human being has the same basic genetic makeup and the full complement of human genes is known as the human genome genes are the recipes for proteins which are essential for Life different proteins perform different functions some form muscle or skin others control essential processes like reproduction or growth when certain proteins fail to perform their allotted task we can become ill and that's one reason why it's essential for us to identify all the bases and all the genes in the human genome it's quite a job there are 3,000 million of these bases in a human cell and around 100,000 human genes in order to sequence the DNA it first has to be chemically extracted from cells and broken down into small pieces tiny bacteria are then tricked into cloning or replicating the short sections of DNA so that scientists can work with many copies of the same section the copies are then fed into narrow Lanes or channels on these gel plates before being placed into a DNA sequencing machine over the course of a 24-hour period using a process known as gel electroforesis a sequencing machine can now determine around 50,000 consecutive bases which are recorded on a computer each of these colored dots represents a single DNA base this laboratory is effectively a production line for DNA sequencing to date the sang Center has sequenced barely 1% of the human genome but the sequencing operation is currently being scaled up and the human genome sequencing project a vast Global initiative is scheduled to be completed by the Year 2005 the man in in charge of the sang Center is the Cambridge biochemist Dr John solsten the discovery of the sequence the code of life is only the beginning it's it's very important to realize that it's it's not the end of the process it's only the end of the beginning I think that this is certainly laying the foundations of of a new biology um and under of new medical science we shall understand the human body completely from the ground up opposite the sang Center is the European bioinformatics Institute the ebii as the revolution in genetic sequencing produced an explosion of genetic data it became necessary to develop powerful new computers and software to process and analyze this complex information this new discipline is called bioinformatics the Epi provides an essential Channel through which sequencing information can flow to the outside world as soon as new sequences are detered mined they're posted onto the internet in order that scientists from around the world can begin to analyze them researchers here estimate that every day 10,000 people access the ebi genetic databases close to the ebi is the medical research council's Human Genome mapping project Resource Center in this laboratory they're sequencing the Genome of the Japanese fugu fish the fugu is a culinary delicacy in Japan but it has to be prepared and cooked very carefully because some parts of the fish are highly poisonous the fugu is destined to play a key part in genetic research because its genome is very small yet remarkably similar to that of human beings by sequencing the fugu genome these scientists hope to be able to use the information they gather to help identify human genes additionally this Resource Center provides invaluable services to the scientific Community including biological samples sequence information and computer programs to help scientists analyze genetic data as the sequencing of the human genome nears completion efforts will shift towards identifying all human genes and their precise functions the welcome trust genome campus is built in the grounds of hingston Hall the hall itself dates from the 1740s but there are indications that our Neolithic ancestors once worked in this area and during work on the site archaeologists found an anglosaxon settlement here during renovation work an entire room full of extravagant Regency murals was discovered known as the pompeian room it has now been lovingly restored by a specialist team of restorers and gilders today the main building and its various outbuilding bus have been carefully converted to provide the genome campus with a state-of-the-art conference facility for 300 delegates the man who steered this project through to completion is the welcome trust's program director Dr Michael Morgan scientists in this country have been the Cinderella in terms of support and for too long they've had inadequate facilities we're making a statement here that scientists deserve good surroundings excellent surroundings in which to work I personally don't feel we've done anything other than create a beautiful environment where we get first class results first class environment I think we do this in uh in the projects we fund elsewhere in the universities it's part of our philosophy part of our philosophy to support scientists by providing appropriate facilities in which they can do the excellent work that they do and in which they will feel valued the international program to sequence the human genome offers the prospect of dramatic developments in medical science we're about to take a giant leap in understanding the Tree of Life deciphering the genetic code will enable scientists to develop new therapies and to forecast ill health and thereby act to prevent It ultimately we may even be able to correct genetic Errors By replacing faulty genes with flawless copies the future holds many challenges but but if we rise to them the 21st century may become the age when the burden of genetic disorders is finally lifted