Thai Genome Project Takes Off Next Month

[webfact]

Thai Genome project takes off next month

By Pongphon Sarnsamak

The Nation

Thailand's first scientific attempt to decode the human genome - listing three billion base pairs of genes - is expected to begin next month, and will take five years to complete.

The aim of the project is better medical knowledge, essentially searching for clues about healthy living and using the correct medicines to treat chronic ailments like heart disease and cancer.

"Sequencing the genome will provide key hints on how to treat patients properly," said project leader Wasun Chantrtatita.

The project, which is supported by the Thailand Centre of Excellence for Life Sciences (TCELS), is looking for 280 anonymous, healthy Thai male donors as models for further study of DNA changes, or variants.

The donors must be of pure Thai ancestry, whose families have lived in the country for at least three generations. From this group, the researchers will select only one single sample to use for the genomesequencing project.

The two main objectives will be, firstly, to locate DNA variants on the genome that are strongly associated with disease. Genomic markers will then be developed into a set of geneticscreening tests. If any patient then returns a positive result when tested with these genomic markers, it will mean that person is at high risk of contracting diseases in the future.

"Just a single drop of blood will be able to tell us about your medical risks, illnesses and symptoms. It will also ensure that patients get the right medication," Wasun said.

However, these risks may be reduced if people get regular medical checkups, or change or modify their dietary behaviour or their environment. The second purpose of the project is to help patients for whom current therapies do not work properly.

DNA variants discovered in the process of sequencing the genome will be submitted to a special computationalbiology programme based on computer simulations developed at the University of Washington, in the US. This will identify all approved drugs that can bind to the protein structures of the targeted disease.

The structures are created by the DNA variants and they somehow malfunction in ways that lead to damage and disease in the body.

These drugs can then be used to replace medications that were ineffective.

Thailand's first humangenome project was launched in 2004, to study the relationship between medicine and genes. However, this year's study will be used as a model for treating patients in future with personalised medicine.

In the first year of the new project, researchers will decode the human genome from a single blood sample. In the second year, they will analyse 20,000 genes and 60,000 proteincoding genes, after which they will create 3D models of protein genes that cause diseases and those that do not. This genetic information will be used in a search of 6.038 different drugs, to find the correct drugs to match patients' symptoms. To date, the cost of human genome decoding is about Bt400,000 per sample, but Wasun expects that cost to fall to about Bt30,000.

"The outcome of the project will help both the government and patients, by finding effective treatments while reducing medical expenditure and unnecessary laboratory diagnostic assays," he said.

-- The Nation 2011-05-11

[happyrobert]

Lengthy article with many points, but seems like it could be summed up with:

Been there, done that a decade ago, but must be a "Thai" of pure race so proper drugs can be prescribed in government hospitals.

Therefore blood pressure, heart and diabetes meds, etc., must be diiferent for Thais than other homo sapiens.

Someone with more knowledge on this please post why the single International Genome Project was good for the rest of the world, but LOS needs one specific to the Thai race?

I think I see another conspiracy thread starting....

[Briggsy]

"Must have lived here for 3 generations". So, I see, "pure Thai" now includes large numbers of people who ethnically are from Guangdong province in China. So, the project is undermined from the start. Since the whole point is the budget are how it is divvied up, who cares.

[dominique355]

I might come as shock that Thai people are genetically not different from farang.

[dominique355]

Lengthy article with many points, but seems like it could be summed up with:

Been there, done that a decade ago, but must be a "Thai" of pure race so proper drugs can be prescribed in government hospitals.

Therefore blood pressure, heart and diabetes meds, etc., must be diiferent for Thais than other homo sapiens.

Someone with more knowledge on this please post why the single International Genome Project was good for the rest of the world, but LOS needs one specific to the Thai race?

I think I see another conspiracy thread starting....

Nobody here got any kickbacks from the other Human Genome projects.

[h90]

I might come as shock that Thai people are genetically not different from farang.

Of course they are different from farangs, but most probably not different from Cambodian, Lao and Myanmar.

[mccw]

Were there not two human genome projects racing against each other? The American one was going to keep secttet and patent the lot, but the British led one just popped them to the post and released the data for the good of humanity.

Since then drug companies have been patenting genes they have 'discovered' are responsible for various things. That's not just the treatment involved but the actual gene apparently! So for a country to want to come up with their own set of results to get round this does make sense. The thai ancestry thing does look a bit odd I agree but if you were going to do such a project as a nation state you may aswell make it as relevant to your particular population as possible. There are genetic differences between people of all parts of the world; we are not all identical; this is how we can trace ancestry to geolocation back hundreds or even a 1000 or 2000+ years ago.

[lungmi]

A project like this makes upset.

1. scientifically it is BS

2. The Nazi wanted to check out the genome of the aryan race (blond hairs, blue eyes and warriors). They stopped, no DNS. and Hitler was outside.

when we speak about "race" the Aryans were the Tsigane, the Gpsies who has been killed by the protectors of the "aryan race".

A perversion like this comes up inThailand?

[mccw]

^. Scientificly it is not bullshit.

The question of ethically how far you let the potential technology go is an interesting one however.

For example British researchers have found and approved for use a test which can identify genes in embrois which lead to servierly disabled children; so now they are scanning embryos to be used in IVF treatment and filtering out the aforementioned disability ones.

Would you consider this meddling ing gods intention? Or is it saving a child from a life of pain?

This is not aborting already conceived babies remember but selecting which embryo to implant.

If genes were identified to increased intelligence, good looks or physical strength ethically western countries might bulk at the idea but others might well engage in such activities. It might not be so far fetched to imagine a time when the majority of wealthy persons births are from IVF and only the best gene carrying embryos are selected.

[happyrobert]

So, with the exception of a couple of posters, we agree, it's racist.

Whatta surprise.

[mccw]

^ 4 saying racist

2 talking about the scientific facts involved.

Do none of the four have anything interesting to say about ethics or science? Or is it just another excuse to thai bash?

Funny how some falangs get so uptight over racism once their removed from falang land; see and hear it every where ; even to the exstent to suggest that the word 'falang'' is akin to 'nigger' in racial slur! Ridiculas

[KwaTime]

It's normal for scientific studies to be reproduced, and if they were able to make a large contribution to the scientific/medical community, it wouldn't be a surprise.

[rishi]

"Must have lived here for 3 generations". So, I see, "pure Thai" now includes large numbers of people who ethnically are from Guangdong province in China. So, the project is undermined from the start. Since the whole point is the budget are how it is divvied up, who cares.

Surely, it must be a rather subjective matter to rule what genetically constitutes a "pure Thai". Obviously, the three-generation thing doesn't determine much since a lot of differently colored people with a variety of hair types, cheek bone shapes, and eye shapes would meet that requirement. Aren't there actually any pure Thais, apart from eventual tribes? Didn't the ancestors of the socalled ethnic Thais (as the term is used by popular guide books) come from Southern China some 5-600 years ago as to settle on the central lowland plains?

[mccw]

They might start with one healthy person representing a thai person but for sure will then do many more tests on all sorts of disabled, disease susceptible, cancer sufferers etc; even on some falang and luk krung to see how they compare and what can be learned from comparison, like why some ethnic groups seem to be more susceptible to certain things.

A "pure" thai is just a starting point and I'm sure the scientist know there is no such thing as a real pure thai; so they clarify by saying 3 generations because that's about as much as most families can be sure to know and about as close as they want for a starting point, ie a bit of local area mix is inevitable but nothing too far afield

Although it is possible distant traders are in mixed with some family genes it is less likely before 3 gens ago

[mccw]

I think the thai ethnic group did migrate from southern china area, your right, but more than 800 years ago I think.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peopling_of_Thailand

Interesting reference to the DNA homegenius group O , meaning most south east Asian peoples are from the same root which has then spread out and formed sub groups before more recently mixing back in together again.

Edited May 11, 2011 by mccw

[mccw]

So basically they want a thai local group o types person as a starting point and no falang , black or India mix ups skewing the data.

Nothing wrong with that; just makes sense.

(I have luk krung kids and don't find such a thing for scientific perposes offensive at all. If anything it's worse the otherway around how White skin and falang features on Thais is overly worshipped as most beautiful)

[Briggsy]

So basically they want a thai local group o types person as a starting point and no falang , black or India mix ups skewing the data.

Nothing wrong with that; just makes sense.

(I have luk krung kids and don't find such a thing for scientific perposes offensive at all. If anything it's worse the otherway around how White skin and falang features on Thais is overly worshipped as most beautiful)

They should employ random sampling of the population.

This is because the Thais of Indian, Caucasian, Chinese descent are equally as likely to use medical facilities in Thailand since this is the stated goal of the project.

However, anyone who is familiar with ministerial budgets in this country knows this is ALL about the money and the rest is only a smokescreen.

[dunkin2012]

.

Edited May 12, 2011 by dunkin2012

[partington]

This is rather a lame announcement , if correctly reported.

Nowadays you can sequence a human genome in a few weeks at a cost of a few tens of thousands of dollars. An undergraduate student could do it with the right equipment.

Current US studies are doing 3000 people at a time to trace links between diseases and DNA differences in the subjects studied. Of course different ethnicities have different susceptibility to diseases, and some of this different susceptibility is likely to be genetic.

But one guy's genome sequence? A start, but of doubtful significance on its own...

[happyrobert]

I guess it might be nice to know what gene allows my neighbors to each drink a couple of bags of whisky every night and still have washboard abs and 28" waists after 30 years of doing so....

There might be a market in some other countries for splicing that one.