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 The "Post-Genomics" World
In the past two years, a flood of complete genome sequences has been published, including those of the bacterial "workhorse," E. coli, and of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae; the genome sequence of the nematode worm C. elegans will be completed in 1998. Knowledge of complete genome sequences will have a profound impact on the way biological research is carried out, and two Banbury Center meetings examined what is to be done in this so-called "post-genomics" world. One meeting-Integrating Genetic, Biochemical, and Other Data-discussed how best to make use of all the data on the functions of cells and organisms that have been acquired during the past 100 years, in light of the more recently obtained genome sequences. The goal of this meeting is to produce a "virtual cell" that can be used as a predictive tool.
Physiologists traditionally have used other techniques to study organisms on more of a systems level, and the American Physiological Society is keen to use the tools of genetics to further their research. The meeting Genomics to Physiology and Beyond was designed to introduce physiologists to some of the ways in which genomics and the analysis of complex genetic traits might be used to answer the kinds of questions that interest them.
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