Unzipping your genes

The cost of a complete human genome sequence will soon be less than that of a Prada purse, becoming an attractive tool for disease prediction. Unlike a fashionable gadget, a genome sequence can be everlasting in its utility, used to assess multiple treatment options throughout a person’s life. Informatics tools linking patient records and genomic information offer to transform healthcare. Come to this Pint of Science talk to find out whether precision medicine is just around the corner!

Our genetic blueprint - our DNA - is an incredibly long string of letters. Each of the billions of cells in our body amazingly contains its own personal copy of this massive blueprint. This is possible thanks to amazing feats of structural engineering; chromosomes. I will introduce these amazing structures and describe the ongoing journey of discovery, started a century ago, of how cancer cells mix and match their chromosomes seemingly at will. Lastly I’ll explain some of the current exciting work in our laboratory, and how we’re learning more every day about the secret life of chromosomes.