Life puzzle [Archives:2005/845/Health]

By Dr. Amro Adel Jawi
Faculty of Human Medicine
Aden University
On the 15th of February 2001, humanity achieved the most important and accurate project in its long history, and such achievement is related to the enigma of life and human beings. For the first time in human history, man could turn to know more about himself.

Some scholars called the current era “The Genomic Era” because man's exploration of genomic letters is expected to leave fingerprints in the future of humanity. The main substance in the composition of the human genome is (DNA), which is the cause in the transfer of genetic features from fathers to their children. Some scholars hold the view that the genetic substance consists of protons and not the (DNA) and they did not think of the (DNA) for a single reason, it is that the chemical compound of (DNA) is distinguished by being so simple and therefore it consists of four azotic elements (Cytosine, Thyamine, Guanine and Adenine), in addition to a sugar substance that is extracted from Oxygen and phosphor.

They believed the genetic substance should be distinctively complex, and this is why they neglected the other substance thought to be of a simple nature till it became apparent for the first time that the nuclear acid (DNA) is the genetic substance. This was invented in 1944 by Owald T. Avery.

The question to be strongly put here is “how does the genetic information transfer in the cell, and how can it be supplied with the necessary protons that helps the cell grow well? In 1956, two scientists Even and Tijo confirmed the availability of 46 chromosomes in each human cell. This exploration helped in diagnosing the chromosomal diseases. In 1959, the French scientist Gerome Lejeune confirmed that the downs syndrome is ascribable to the existence of 47 chromosomes instead of 46 in the cell of the patient. The chromosomes No.21 is an extra one and means that the patient has three chromosomes with the number 21 while a healthy person has only two chromosomes with the number 21, one is inherited from his father and the other from his mother.

What distinguishes the Genomic Era, from 1997 up until now, is the increasing explorations of the number of genes, particularly those causing genetically inherited diseases. This contributed to opening a door with its two shelters in the field of medical sciences, the so-called Gene Medicine. This stage started with the cloning of the goat (Dollely) in 1996 by Len Wilmut.

Other developments achieved in the same period on June 26, 2000, is the exploration of the genetic map of man that was followed by the reading of human genome on April 24, 2003. Afterwards, scientists moved on studying genes relevant to diseases and a big share of studies was expected to be conducted on diabetes.

Now scientists are keeping on the study of genes available on the chromosomes No.20 who is believed to have an effective role in the development of some types of diabetes, mainly type two that infects a large number of human beings.

The experiment of the goat “Dollely” is considered the rarest one in the history of medicine, which was conducted through the non-sexual cloning. This experiment aroused questionings about the likelihood of human cloning in the same way.

The experiment was conducted according to the following steps:

(1) Taking some cells from the breast of goat A that was 6 years old and putting it in nutritional mean. Then researchers hungered these cells through reducing the nutritional elements in the mean with an average of (1:12) of the normal concentration that makes cells in a state of tranquility. In this case, the genes become ready for the process while the cells enter a genomic state able to restore its programming genetically.

(2) An ovum was taken from goat B, its nucleus was extracted and the ovum became a cell containing cytoplasm and free from nucleus.

(3) Nucleus of the breast cell taken from goat A was transplanted in the ovum of goat B that is free from nucleus with the means of electrical merging. The Cytoplasm of the ovum contains some elements that in turn mislead the new nucleus making it feel being a genomic nucleus. It consequently starts to split to transplanted fetus in the uterus of a third goat.

From her we prove that we are on the way to uncover the mask of life puzzle that has made man preoccupied since the beginning of his creation. Hence scientists proved themselves able to comprehend all the vocabulary, rules and shapes that form the genomic language.
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