We read about SNPs (pronounced snips) in the papers and online, we hear about them on TV, on the radio and in people’s conversations. But what are they?
A SNP is used to understand someone’s Story – which population they belong to and who were his/her ancestors – and what makes them the Person they are – what do they carry in their DNA.
Thus, SNPs are used to find someone’s S and P i.e. SNP.
[This is an article I wrote for a major Greek newspaper “VIΜΑ” which was published on the 5th of February 2010. There is going to be a small Greek twist to this blog as well. First the article – loosely translated by me – in English and then the original in Greek.]
In just one decade in the science of biology three “new” areas were “created”. In 2000 everyone thought that Bioinformatics is the future of biology. After the final sequence of the human genome, three years later, everyone was talking about Systems biology.Today, at the end of this decade, the focus is Synthetic Biology. It is therefore perfectly reasonable to wonder if these areas are indeed new, if a new paradigm is being created. Is the science of biology changing with with unprecedented high rates or do scientists give to their research the newest, and therefore most attractive name in order to increase their opportunities of getting funding?