Complex genetic diseases: controversy over the Croesus code.
The polarization of views on how best to exploit new information from the Human Genome Project for medicine reflects our ignorance of the genetic architecture underlying common diseases: are susceptibility alleles common or rare, neutral or deleterious, few or many? Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) technology is almost in place to dissect such diseases and to create a personalized medicine, but success is critically dependent on the biology and "Nature to be commanded must be obeyed" (Francis Bacon, 1620, Novum Organum).
Wright
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MRC Human Genetics Unit, Western General Hospital, Crewe Road, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK. alan.wright@hgu.mrc.ed.ac.uk
Hastie
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D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D005787:Gene Frequency / Q000235:genetics; D030342:Genetic Diseases, Inborn / Q000235:genetics*; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics; D005826:Genetics, Medical / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D015894:Genome, Human; D006239:Haplotypes / Q000235:genetics; D016045:Human Genome Project; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics