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Are 68 Molecules Enough To Understand Diseases?

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the enter-the-peer-review dept.

Roland Piquepaille writes "A researcher from the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) claims that 68 molecules can explain the origins of many serious diseases. After reviewing findings from multiple disciplines, he 'realized that only 68 molecular building blocks are used to construct these four fundamental components of cells: the nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), proteins, glycans and lipids,' and he said that 'these 68 building blocks provide the structural basis for the molecular choreography that constitutes the entire life of a cell.'"

2 of 133 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Obvious and boring by OG · · Score: 4, Informative

    Again, go back and look at the chart. He lists the 8 (not 5) nucleic acids involved in DNA and RNA:

    Deoxyadenosine
    Deoxycytidine,
    Deoxyguanosine,
    Deoxythymidine,
    Adenosine,
    Cytidine,
    Guanosine,
    Uridine

    The first four nucleosides make up DNA, the last four RNA.

  2. Some Context by OG · · Score: 4, Informative

    This probably isn't a great article for Slashdot's front page. The original work referred to in the press release cited (and to be honest, the release overstates the original work to which it refers) is a piece of correspondence in a scientific journal of cell biology (Nature Cell Biology) from a cell biologist to fellow cell biologists calling for a more holistic approach to studying the origin of disease. It has a very specific target audience and a very specific message.

    He states (correctly) that many people thought that decoding genetics would lead to understand the nature of disease, but that hasn't happened to the degree we thought it would. Rather, they (I'm not a cell biologist) need to look at the entire cell and all of the components of the cell, not just the genes and proteins.

    To that end, he provides a very nice diagram that lists 4 major groups of organic molecules and shows at a high level how they fit together. It's a nice little reference piece for researchers and students and a nice reminder that the cell is a dynamic, complex body with many important components other than the genes and proteins that receive such a large amount of scrutiny.