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...makeup?
Researchers worldwide are hoping to make this medical possibility a reality one day. And they're making strides by studying the way the body's cells work using powerful technologies and sciences known as genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. Genomics is the study of all the genes, proteomics is the study of all the proteins, and metabolomics is the study of all the molecules derived from metabolism (metabolites) in a living organism.
"New biological understanding to help us to combat disease will come from knowledge of genes, proteins and metabolites," says Yvonne Dragan, Ph.D., a research biologist and director of the Division of Systems Toxicology within the Food and Drug Administration's National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR). The FDA, academic and medical institutions, and pharmaceutical companies are all working to learn more about these cellular components, which can lead to more effective treatments for people based on their genetic structures and acquired differences.
"The long-term goal is to be able to personalize medicine," says Dragan. "Metabolomics is one of many tools to help do that."
What Is Metabolomics?
Metabolomics, genomics, proteomics, and other "-omics" grew out of the Human Genome Project, a massive research effort that began in the mid-1990s and culminated in 2003 with a complete mapping of all the genes in the human body.
Scientists believe there are 30,000 to 40,000 genes in the human body. A gene is a piece of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). About 99.9 percent of the DNA sequence is identical in all people, according to the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). But the 0.1 percent difference is critical because it represents the genetic variations that determine a person's risk for getting a disease, how mild or severe the disease will be, and how he or she will respond to a treatment.
While genomics researchers are searching for variations in genes that cause disease, and proteomics researchers are seeking out abnormal protein patterns, metabolomic researchers are mining for abnormal metabolite patterns.
Metabolites are generated through metabolism--all the chemical reactions within the body that create and use energy, handle foods and other substances, and regulate our internal environment. Digesting food, eliminating waste, regulating body heat, and even breathing are all involved in the body's metabolism.
Experts believe there are...
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