Coming from a
background where the most intricate mysteries are solved about objects which
cannot be often seen with the naked eye, or which requires the most skillful
God gifted hands it feels good to see developments in leaps and bounds. Among
many discoveries made in the field of life science, the discovery of the
structure of DNA in the year 1953 stands out in the field of medicine and life
sciences. James Watson himself quoted” DNA is the golden molecule, not
protein”. Since then, the mysteries have been more grappling than ever. It is
more astonishing to learn that prior to the discovery of DNA structure there
were scientists who often had a kind of race against each other about who would
deduce a theory faster than the other. With recent advancements in the field of
life sciences where research is related mostly at the molecular level, related
to cellular intricacies, genes and protein, next generation medicine is the next
big thing about to take the world over.
Once a doctor said,
“As doctors we know about the human body more than anyone else but that is just
10 % of the entire mechanism. The actual root of all the malfunctioning is
related to DNA, because that is what determines who we are.” The answer lies in
the DNA. Coming to another aspect of recent medicinal science research is on
the generation of artificial organs. As students of Biotechnology, we often
come to learn that one of the most basic things in this field is tissue culture
and organ regeneration is just a step ahead. Plastic surgeons often fascinate
about skin grafting and a few days back it was made possible in Brussels,
Belgium. An entire ovary was regenerated after the tissue was cryopreserved for
14 years. The woman who had to undergo treatment of leukemia at the age of 13
had to undergo an emergency hysterectomy before her first menstruation and the
doctors preserved the ovary. After 14 years the tissue was planted in the body
attached to the infundibulum and the girl generated an entire ovary and started
producing eggs. The doctors quoted “This is an entirely new discovery in the
path of infertility treatment.”
With a lot of
research going in the field of breast cancer, especially the recent development
that activated estrogen receptors slow down the development of breast cancer
actually opens up the arena for more advanced treatment with hormonal
therapy. Mammogram which is said to be 75% accurate in detecting the
possibility of breast cancer is slowly getting outdated as a new blood test
claims 80% efficient in predicting the possibility by measuring the changes in
the levels of metabolites present in blood based on the activation of BRCA 1
& BRCA 2 gene. The results are still under clinical trials and are soon
expected to approve by FDA.
Other than the
advancement directly leading to life threatening situations, the discovery of
Argus II, the new bionic eye for treatment of blindness has just taken the
entire field to a different level. Bridging the gap between principles of life
science and microelectronics ARGUS is really the answer to treating blindness.
In this cut throat
world of competition with all the researches going on, it’s practically
difficult to choose a particular field of interest. Somewhere between the
actual medicines, regenerative medicine and Bionics dwells the answers to the
most mysterious questions about life. Just like the answers which, dwell in the
sea of self doubt and ambiguity in the open galaxy outside, so does the answers
to why we are, the way we are.
Debanjan Kundu
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