Investigating the Human Genome: Insights into Human Variation and Disease Susceptibility

Primarily written to update professionals already grounded in the subject, this brief review of cutting-edge research in the field of genetics and genomics provides everything from a broad overview of struc-tural variations in the DNA sequence to specifics about diseases such as Alzheimer's. Dr. Smith (Transla-tional Research in Genetics and Genomics), a professor of pediatrics and human genetics at the University of California-Irvine's School of Medicine, suggests that genomics will play an increasingly important role in clinical practice, by allowing physicians to adjust care according to a patient's individual genome, ra-ther than relying solely upon family history or other information. This would be especially useful in cases of brain disease where tissue samples are not readily available. Personal genomic information can also help predict a patient's sensitivity to certain pharmaceuticals. Not only is knowledge about the human genome already playing a part in the development of new cures, it can be relevant, Smith writes, in pre-dicting the course of a degenerative disease in order to better manage a patient's care. While the book may not be pitched for the average reader, one would certainly hope that this information is widely circu-lated among physicians and medical researchers. (July)