Scientists relish genome clues but advise caution

By NICK SMITH

Cancer, heart disease, Parkinson's, Huntington's, Alzheimer's - a cure is now possible for virtually every condition afflicting humanity.

That is the bold prediction after the announcement from international scientists that they have cracked the human genetic code.

But the hype surrounding the "post-genomic era" comes with fine print: some time in the future.

Cures for breast and prostate cancer could be 10, 50 or 100 years away, and New Zealand experts yesterday punctured the euphoria after the Human Genome Project's achievement with words of caution.

Look at cystic fibrosis, they say. The gene for that disease was discovered in the early 90s, and although treatment has progressed, a cure remains frustratingly elusive.

Predictions, such as those broadcast on television that by 2050 life expectancy would be 95, were pure speculation, said Mike Berridge, acting director of the Malaghan Institute.

"All you can say is that it will speed up the process of discovery. We have the information but what we do with that information is another matter.

"[But] it will give us a framework in which to understand human diseases - every disease that afflicts human beings, from cancer to immune response, including Aids," said Mr Berridge, whose organisation researches the "basic mechanism of diseases," particularly immunology and cancer.

Tony Reeve, director of the cancer genetics laboratory at Otago University, said the discovery would revolutionise research in New Zealand.

To identify the cystic fibrosis gene required the work of "dozens and dozens of PhD scientists." Yet with the aid of the new human genome database, "a graduate student today could make a first best-guess of what the gene might be in a couple of days," he said.

The information had already been used by scientists to produce a drug for treating breast cancer.