November 17, 2002

Bet on the future

While reviewing some unfinished reading, I came across the last issue of Scientific American in year 1999, Collins and Jegalian predicted that: By 2050 genomics will be able to answer following questions:

  1. Will the 3-D structures of proteins be predictable from their amino acid sequences?
  2. Will synthetic life-forms be produced?
  3. Will we be able to build a computer model of a cell that contains all the components, identifies all the biochemical interactions and makes accurate predictions about the consequences of any stimulus given to that cell?
  4. Will the details of how genes determine mammalian development become clear?
  5. Will we reconstruct accurately the history of human populations?
  6. Will we be able to reconstruct the major steps in the evolution of life on the earth?
  7. How will individuals, families and society respond to this explosion in knowledge about our genetic heritage?
Posted by mjhsieh at November 17, 2002 12:00 AM