The research activities have already worked out a number of major breakthroughs and a chronological table on Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties will be published in 1999. This marks the breakthrough for cloning disease causing genes. It is reported that this is also the first disease triggering gene cloned by China. The result has been applied with international patent right protection. This encouraging development was published in the latest issue of Nature, an internationally renowned academic journal.
Genes are the carriers of human genetic information.
To clone diseases triggering genes is to study the sequence structures of a human gene, interpret its code combination and discover gene mutation and its direct relationship with certaindiseases. As early as in the beginning of 1980s, Prof. Xia Jiahui of Hunan Medical University and others started their research on location of genes and carried out fruitful investigations on gene cloning and new carriers of genetic treatment. These efforts have led to the formulation of mature techniques for cloning disease triggering genes. In 1997, by taking advantage of the data accumulated in international genome research project, they created computer based disease triggering gene cloning technology, the first of its kind in China. So far, they have cloned 7 diseases related full length genes and have them registered and coded in international gene bank.