Directions for Future Research in Molecular
Biology
It is clear that knowledge of the eukaryotic cell
is far from our under-standing of lambda phage or E. coli, but our
understanding of even these simpler objects is far from complete. Therefore we
can perceive three general areas for future research in genetics and molecular
biology. In the first, simpler systems in bacteria, yeast, and the fruit fly
will be studied in greater depth so that we may understand as much as possible
about the physics, chemistry, and biochemistry common to all systems. An
ultimate goal of this direction of work is the ability to predict the
properties of a protein given its structure and to modify known proteins so
that they will fold fold and bind to any desired sequence on a nucleic acid to
regulate a cell activity in any way we desire, or possess any reasonable
structural or enzymatic property. In the more immediate future, we should learn
how to modify known proteins, RNA molecules, or DNA molecules to carry out
functions different from, but related to their natural ones.
A second general area of work will be understanding
cellular proc-esses. This includes study of the following: the mechanisms used
in nature for regulating gene and enzyme activity; the complicated
inter-actions between metabolic pathways; and the mechanisms of many functions
such as movement, active transport, RNA splicing, cell divi-sion, and receptor
function. A third area of future work will be that of understanding organisms
as a whole. This will include how cells and tissues develop and differentiate
and how they signal to one another and then respond.
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