| Modern biology and genomic sciences are rooted in infectious disease research. One of the earliest investigations into the biology of pneumococci led to the landmark 1944 discovery that genes are made of DNA and not protein. A half century later, inexpensive, reliable, and automated DNA sequencing methods have allowed scientists to sequence the complete genomes of nearly 2,000 different bacteria and viruses, as well as the genomes of multiple host organisms, including humans. In the wake of this flood of information, we are now faced with the far more daunting task of determining how the knowledge of billions of nucleotide bases can be put to practical use to understand disease and ultimately improve the human condition. |