A beautiful entry into the century of biology, as defined by Zvi Yanai; Our grandchildren knew that cancer is a star system in years
The announcement of the completion of the human genome decoding project is a milestone in the history of science, comparable to the discovery of penicillin and the landing of the first man on the moon. Although a private company is involved, the entire human genome book will be open to all scientists for investigation.
This will end long months of conjecture and mutual slander about who will "win" the race; The international group, called the "public" group, with the participation of research and academic centers and researchers from the USA, Great Britain, Germany, France, Japan, China and also Israel, or the "private" group, led by an American biotechnology company, Celera, which mapped the DNA sequence. Ai, the genetic material, in a different form, which allows the genes to be identified more quickly. With the completion of the project and interpretation of the three billion letters that make up the complete DNA sequence, it is possible that for the first time in the history of the human race, medical experts will not only be able to diagnose diseases but also cure them, and perhaps in the distant future even create perfect vaccines against them.
It is a process of decades, until we overcome all the obstacles. There are things that can be done more quickly, such as a certain correction of genetic defects, but the big questions such as the enhancement of intelligence, which will certainly be a desirable goal (experiments with mice whose genetic structure is similar to ours show that mental traits can be improved by genetic therapy), and the extension of life span, still far away. I predict that in 50 years and beyond we will be able to talk about the effect of extending life and increasing intelligence."
Zvi Yanai defined it in the following words: "This century is the century of biology, just as the previous century was of physics, and the concerns that arose already in the 70s, including the question of genetic cloning, will continue to surface from time to time, whenever an interesting development occurs."
"In the coming years, doctors will be able to cure diseases such as diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer's. The day will come when our children will think of cancer in terms of luck in astrology - and not as a terrible disease," Clinton promised at the press conference celebrating the scientific achievement. However, the American president warned against the dangers of the new discovery, such as "duplication of humans", or the creation of the perfect person: "We must make sure that the decoding of the human genome does not discriminate against groups in society, and that medicine takes care of all humanity", the president emphasized. He thanked the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who attended the press conference with him, as well as the "wonderful British scientists who took part in the project".
The announcement of the completion of a preliminary draft of the genome brought the biotechnology industry into the headlines. However, if you were thinking of establishing a start-up company in the field and raking in millions, Prof. Michel Rebel, chairman of the National Committee for Biotechnology, believes that you are wrong and that it will be a long time before we see Israeli success in the field.
In an interview with YNET, Rebel said: "I don't think we will see an increase in the number of start-up companies that will develop into serious companies in the field. In the biotechnology industry, an idea is not enough, or the polishing of software as is the case in high-tech, you need much more than that. Already today there are 60 start-up companies in biotech, and that is too many, it is likely that most of them will not succeed." So what does a biotechnology start-up company need to develop and succeed in this industry?
"Let's start with the fact that you should not be tempted by easy money, it is advisable to go for strategic cooperation with existing companies in the industry. If you still decide to start a company on your own, you should be prepared for a serious long-term financial investment.
Today, venture capital funds are able to respond to such companies. "Beyond that, the entrepreneurs must have managerial and marketing qualities, with sales ability and intuition for finding strategic entities for collaborations. A breathing space is also required, since it is a relatively long period of time until the realization of the company."
The book is opened, now we also need to understand not only the letters in it but also the words, and this, the commercial companies will almost certainly do, let's hope they do good things with the new and dangerous knowledge and will not be tempted to turn it, like every innovation in the past, into a weapon.
