If the previous gene detection technology only has a "fishhook", only one fish (one gene) can be caught at a time. Then, the gene chip is like a fishing rod with thousands of hooks, which can catch many different fish at the same time, thus realizing the synchronous detection and identification of thousands of genes. It has the characteristics of high efficiency, Qualcomm capacity, rapidity and simplicity. Zhao Zhixian said that the deaf chip can provide genetic testing from pre-pregnancy, prenatal to birth. "You only need to extract a drop of sample from the mother's amniotic fluid, or a drop of blood to complete the whole test." It can help parents to know the genetic information of new life in time and take measures to reduce the hereditary diseases of newborns.
Gene chip will change the medication mode of "one prescription for every ten thousand people". In terms of personalized prescription, western medicine and Chinese medicine may reach the same goal in the future. At present, doctors prescribe standardized prescriptions for patients with the same kind of diseases. In fact, individual differences directly affect the effect of medication, and the amount of medication should also be different.
The human genome encodes about 100,000 different genes, and a gene has thousands of loci. "Most chronic diseases are related to several or more mutation sites in dozens of genes. Gene chip can classify genes, find out relevant loci as much as possible, find out which genes and loci are well expressed for prognosis and which ones are not well expressed, and then provide personalized treatment according to the comparison results. " A returnee entrepreneur who is engaged in genetic testing chip services explained.
"The most difficult part of tuberculosis is its high drug resistance. It turns out that it takes 4 ~ 8 weeks to check gene resistance, and most of the treatments during this period are empirical drugs. If drug resistance occurs, it will not cure the disease, but will aggravate the condition and delay treatment. The tuberculosis detection chip shortens the detection time to 6 hours and wins the opportunity for treatment. " Zhao Zhixian made an empirical study with specific cases.
The biggest change brought by gene chip to western medicine is that it can detect individual differences between patients, make doctors diagnose and use drugs more timely and improve accuracy, but it needs to be based on a lot of scientific research, and gene screening will take time to show results.
Although the current gene chip technology is not fully mature, it can't stop its commercial pace. In some hospitals or medical institutions in China, you can now see advertisements that you can predict whether you will get cancer and take your health into your own hands with just a drop of blood or a saliva sample. In the United States, more and more retailers begin to provide genetic diagnosis tests directly to consumers through the Internet. Their slogan is that they can know their health status from the genetic level without the help of doctors. This test has even begun to target the international market through the Internet.
Usually, as long as consumers pay, they can get a list of their own genes, characteristics and potential diseases, as well as a personal medication suggestion and comprehensive health advice on life, diet and environment, such as dieting and exercise. Domestic prices range from 20,000 to 30,000 yuan.
"Tube" and "Release" of Gene Chip
So, how reliable is this genetic diagnosis? Boao Bio has given a set of standards from a technical point of view. Gene chip technology must be based on a large number of known genes and the relationship between gene changes and diseases, so it should detect as many disease-related genes as possible, and it needs to establish an unusually large database of genes and diseases, and at the same time have a set of scientific mathematical models. In addition, genetic testing has certain racial pertinence, "that is to say, if the population database is different, the test results will be different." Zhao zhixian said.
The research team composed of four experts in American bioethics, law and medicine studied whether this genetic test is suitable for the market. They said that all genetic tests have to pass the same type of pre-survey of centralized data market, and many genetic testing companies have given long-term prediction results. In fact, it will take decades to fully understand these risks and benefits.
