Human genetic code

Aoki, N., "Patent Applications Booming in Biotech Studies in Human Genetic Code," Boston Globe, p. D1 (Aug. 30, 2000). 

The sequencing of the human genome has been widely touted as a critical scientific milestone that will revolutionize the process of drug discovery. The continuing analysis of the human genetic code will provide the scientific framework on which... 

A section of human genetic code taken from several unnamed Australian athletes was added to ink used to mark all official goods—everything from caps to socks—from the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. The technology is used as a way to mark artwork or one-of-a-kind sports souvenirs. 

This order might provide the genetic code for the formation of, say, a protein in the skin collagen of a human being. At the same location in the DNA molecule of another human the order of the bases may be only slightly different, such as... 

Hydroxyapatite constitutes -65% of human bone by weight. There is another 18% collagen fiber which makes the bone flexible and more durable. Then, there is -10% genetic tissue (mostly living bone cells). This tissue carries the genetic code of the person or animal and unless it is in a denatured form, which also kills the bone, it is likely to be rejected in the body as a bone graft. Therefore, it is impossible to successfully implant living bone even from closely related donors. The remainder of bone is composed of capillaries, nerves, and so on. 

The many (possibly more than 30) types of collagens found in human connective tissues have substantially the same chemical structure consisting mainly of glycine with smaller amounts of proline and some lysine and alanine. In addition, there are two unusual amino acids, hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine, neither of which has a corresponding base-triplet or codon within the genetic code. There is therefore, extensive post-translational modification of the protein by hydroxylation and also by glycosylation reactions. 

In the genetic code of human nuclear DNA, one of the codons specifying the amino acid tyrosine is UAC. Another codon specifying this same amino acid is ... 

There is a tendency to reserve semisynthetic and totally synthetic methods for the introduction of bonds and residues that cannot be specified by the genetic code. The present chapter will concentrate on these aspects. However, semisynthesis can have a role to play even when building structures that are completely accessible to the genetic code. The first industrial challenge for the emerging technologies of total chemical synthesis, recombinant protein expression, and semisynthesis was the economic production of human insulin in pharmaceutically usable quantity and quality. The semisynthetic human insulin that was made from porcine insulin proved exceptionally convenient to produce, and was the first introduction to human insulin for very many patients. 

Apoptosis is pre-programmed cell death. It is why cells (and eventually humans) eventually die with age. Apoptosis is the blueprint for death contained within the genetic code of our cells. Being able to modulate apoptosis would be immensely powerful. 

FIGURE 1-2 Diverse living organisms share common chemical features. Birds, beasts, plants, and soil microorganisms share with humans the same basic structural units (cells) and the same kinds of macromolecules (DNA, RNA, proteins) made up of the same kinds of monomeric subunits (nucleotides, amino acids). They utilize the same pathways for synthesis of cellular components, share the same genetic code, and derive from the same evolutionary ancestors. Shown here is a detail from "The Garden of Eden," by Jan van Kessel the Younger (1626-1679). 

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