• Question: Is there a possibility of a scientific breakthrough?

    Asked by rohanpatel949 to St Kilda Wren, Hazel Dormouse, Emperor Dragonfly, Common Crane, Catshark, Brown garden snail, Barn Owl on 22 Nov 2017.
    • Photo: Lesser-Spotted Catshark

      Lesser-Spotted Catshark answered on 22 Nov 2017:

      The answer of course is ‘yes!’ But not without a lot of hard work. Sequencing a genome without any plan for how to use that information won’t lead to any kind of a breakthrough – it will just be a big file sitting on someone’s computer. Only by combining the valuable data from a genome sequence with carefully designed experiments can we really learn anything from it. I am hoping that sequencing the shark’s genome will show us how stem cells know when to divide, and how to repair damaged cartilage but this will only be possible by combining the data from the genome with other experiments in the laboratory. The genome is an incredibly valuable piece of the puzzle and we wouldn’t be able to answer these questions without it – but it is not a ‘golden ticket’ to a scientific breakthrough.

    • Photo: Common Crane

      Common Crane answered on 27 Nov 2017:

      Don’t plan too much rohanpatel949, it may not come out right. However, do not dismiss a possibility of a breakthrough 😉

    • Photo: Hazel Dormouse

      Hazel Dormouse answered on 6 Dec 2017:

      There is always a possibility of a scientific breakthrough but it is not as easy as having a ‘eureka’ moment, it can take years! Even once a discovery is found, even if it is unique and ground breaking, there is a lot of repetition, quality control and further analysis before people will consider your work as robust and reliable. Fortunately, through Genome 25, more scientists will have access to the genome data and the more brain power the better!

      The Hazel Dormouse in particular has interesting qualities; folklore claim them to be anti-venomous, which is not uncommon for rodents, they also have a unique ability to peel their skin off to escape predators without encumbering themselves and hibernate for over half of their life. NASA are researching hibernation genomics to assist in long term space travel exploration.

      Not too long ago the relative of the Hazel Dormouse, the Naked Mole Rat, had its genome sequence and they found anti-cancer properties, which are now being used to discover new therapeutics such as medicines. Anything is possible in science!

Comments