• Question: I noticed that you are a research group leader at the MRC, I was wondering whether the research in genomes is geared towards potentially curing particular medical conditions or disease? And if so which ones? Many thanks

    Asked by to Toby on 19 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Tobias Warnecke

      Tobias Warnecke answered on 19 Jun 2014:

      Hi gracempinn,

      yes, your hunch is correct – many people who work on genomes do so with diseases in mind, trying to figure out which changes in the genome are associated with diseases. Many diseases have a genetic component, from cancer to schizophrenia to obesity, so people interested in any of these diseases have gone looking for clues in the genome.

      At the same time, we know surprisingly little about how cells and organisms work even if they’re healthy, so there’s also a lot of researchers, and I am one of them, who look at genomes more broadly to figure out how the cell works. That often leads to some insights into disease – but it’s not directly geared at that.

      Did I answer your question, or am I being to general?

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