An exhibition created by RIKEN researchers at the National Science Museum in Tokyo is educating the public about the sequencing of the human genome and new directions in the post-genomic world. Yoshihide Hayashizaki, project director of the Genome Exploration Research Group at the RIKEN Genomic Sciences Center, was the driving force behind the show.
“We are putting this exhibition on now because research in this field is at a turning point,” Hayashizaki said. “This is very important work, and people should know about it.”
With informative panel displays and monitors showing exciting three-dimensional computer animations about various stages of the transcription of RNA into proteins as it occurs in the cell, the exhibition traces the history of the sequencing of the genome and the methods used, including the RIKEN Integrated Sequence Analysis system (RISA) for automated masssequencing, which has greatly sped up the process.
The exhibition also describes some new directions of genetic research. Since the sequencing of the human genome was completed, researchers have found that information can go in more than one direction—from genes and nucleotides to proteins, but also the other way around. In fact, analysis of the genome has shown that there are networks of information pathways and feedback loops that re-circulate genetic information back and forth in the process of expressing the gene and helping the organism adapt to the environment.
This information network is the focus of Hayashizaki’s research on elucidating the genome and the mechanism for gene expression. This is expected to lead to breakthroughs in medicine, agriculture, and a host of other fields.
“I hope this exhibition will help the general public to understand this important scientific research, and also encourage young people to enter this exciting field,” Hayashizaki said.
