With advances in genetic research coming as fast as the papers or blogs can cover them, I’m not surprised to see the breakthrough announced today by researchers in Spain. According to Science Daily, researchers at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona have identified certain strains of proteins within a person’s DNA which have “a tendency to cause conformational diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy, familial amyloidotic cardiomyopathy.” This research could lead to new treatments for these illnesses at the level of genes.

We have gotten closer and closer to understanding the human genome in recent years, and that is in no small part due to improved cooperation in the international scientific community. This collaboration and information sharing has of course been facilitated by the ease of communication brought on by the internet. The field of biotechnology will certainly find new ways of treating these diseases along side these discoveries.

[image via Mira66]