It is impossible to overemphasize the significance of the recent announcement that 85% of the DNA of the human genome has been decoded. Physicians can now begin teasing out the secrets of human health and disease. Within the next 10 years, it may be possible to determine who may be vulnerable to illnesses like Alzheimer's disease, cancer, and diabetes. The world of medicine will be utterly transformed in a few decades. Even before decoding of the human genome is completed, scientists have begun a new and more challenging research in explaining the molecular basis of life. "Proteonomics," the cataloging and analysis of every protein in the human body looms as the next major scientific medical effort. Proteins are more varied and complex than DNA. Fifty years from now, our understanding of the human organism and its various ills will be transformed beyond recognition through genomics and proteonomics. Stay tuned!

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