One of the main approaches to understanding
the function of genes and proteins in cells is sometimes referred
to as ‘wreck and check’.
In this approach scientists change the components of cells
-‘wreck’ - and then examine the cell to see what
effect the change had on the biology of the cell – ‘check’.
What could you learn if you could systematically ‘wreck’
and ‘check’ every single human gene, one at a
time? And what would it mean? What would you miss?
New advances in biology, robotics and informatics have already
made it possible to use this approach to examine every single
gene in baker’s yeast (yes, yeast – that common
microorganism used for thousands of years in baking and fermenting
alcoholic beverages).
Professor Andrews will show some of the things we have learned
from these experiments with yeast and the humbling lessons
they offer us for our attempts to understand human cells and
diseases.
This summer Hamilton business man David Braley gave a gift
to the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine to create the
David Braley Human Stem Cell Library. David Andrews biochemistry
group is working with Dr. Mick Bhatia and his team to study
human stem cells to develop new treatments for people with
kidney diseases, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and
other serious disorders.
Join Professor Andrews to hear about the technical
challenges and the potential benefits of understanding life
one gene at a time.
