The Evolution of Molecular Genetic Pathology Advancing 20th-century Diagnostic Methods into Potent Tools for the New Millennium

摘要

A fortuitous convergence of advancements in the past decade has led to an explosion of new research in molecular pathology with consequent dramatic applications to diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutics, as well as a clearer concept of the molecular pathogenesis of diseases. The Human Genome Project not only provided the impetus for advances in technology but also stimulated the provision of funds for innovative research. Simultaneously, improvements in information technology have led to a new paradigm, eloquently and succinctly expressed by award-winning columnist and author Thomas Friedman in 2005 (http://www.thomaslfriedman.com) that "The world is flat." With the fruition of the Human Genome Project, unexpected connections between diverse research avenues have been made, and scientists studying as-sumedly unrelated topics now discover on an almost daily basis that they have been studying complementary parts of the same conundrum.