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Scientists have now discovered a way to edit genes in wild populations. The scientists would make an edited version of the organism's gene and insert the CRISPR system, a technology that can cut any given gene. So when it came time for this organism with the edited gene to to mate with others with the normal version of the gene, the offspring would inherit both the edited and normal version of the gene, but the CRISPR system would cut the normal copy of the gene. The cell will then copy the edited version of the gene to fix the damage. Therefore, the offspring would have 2 copies of the edited version of the gene. CRISPR gene drives can be beneficial to people and the environment, but it has its limitations. It will not be used immediately to see what the public has to say about this type of management. 

In cancer cells good genes are turned off, while bad ones are turned on through a process called DNA Methylation. The good genes could suppress the cancer if the methyl groups suppressing the genes were removed. Soy Isoflavones, antioxidants found in anything made of soy flour, have been shown to reverse Methylation. This allows the good genes to become activated. This can not only help prevent cancer, but help improve the efficiency of existing treatments, radiation and chemotherapy. The prevention of methylation may also help slow the progression and spreading of cancer. Soy Isoflavones have virtually no negative side affects making them another useful tool in finding better ways to fight and cure cancer.

Children who are abused are more likely to develop serious health problems later down the line. New research has shown that maltreated children have certain changes to their glucocorticoid receptor gene which controls social functioning. The changes in this gene also impact the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, causing difficulties controlling emotional behavior and stress levels. The immune system is also affected by this gene. This explains why abused children are more likely to develop certain illnesses as well as emotional problems. 

Lung cancer is able to metastasize quickly. Many lung cancer patients are missing an anti-cancer gene called LKB1. It was recently discovered that LKB1 is important because it sends instructions to a gene called DIXDC1, which keeps the cells in their place. The cancer either deletes LKB1 or takes control of DIXDC1. Scientists also found out that they were able to slow the spread of the cancer by reactivating DIXDC1. This means that patients missing either of these two genes would gain better results from newer therapies which focus on focal adhesion enzymes. 

Materialists scientists have said that DNA stores all the information needed to create a human body. However, the Human Genome Project shows otherwise. The scientists working in the project found that humans have about 20,000 protein-coding genes. That is no where near enough storage to hold all the information needed to make a human being because people are so complex. This shows that genes alone can not fully explain inheritance. 

A woman with a solitary fibrous cancer, the cancer is only seen a couple hundred times a year, was enrolled MI-ONCOSEQ which led to the discovery of the mutation that causes this cancer. Researchers at University of Michigan ran the tumors genome and identified a mutations. The mutation was unusual, a fusion between two genes, NAB2 and STAT6. Normally mutation are identified because of the they are seen over and over again. However, in this woman's case, there were no known mutations, so scientists looked at what had changed. Then 51 other samples of solitary fibrous tumors were tested for the mutation; all of them tested positive for the mutation. The NAB2-STAT6 fusion may prove hard to treat with target therapy, but scientists may be able to disrupt its growth cycle which leads to this fusion. More research still needs to be done to determine ways in which the knowledge of this mutations can be applied, but for now it is a great start at tackling these rare tumors.

Reproduction is obviously a vital aspect of the human development. With a non-functioning fertility system future generations would be at a loss. Many problems could arise with infertility and ground-breaking research is finally being conducted. One of the important aspects of human reproduction is the use of hormones specifically FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone). This hormone is produced at the base of the brain stem and non-existing levels of FSH were recently associated with infertility. In order to regenerate these hormones a change has to be made in the FSHB subunit of the nucleotide. Infertility usually occurs after certain changes are made in the hormone levels and by redirecting the levels of hormones we may be able to alter the problems that arise during reproduction. It should also be noted that increases and decreases in the levels of FSH may have different effects depending on the gender of the patient. Current research estimates that the response of males to this therapy could positively effect nearly 45% of infertile men. Estimates could not be made for females as a result of insufficient research. 

The cause of most cases of pediatric leukemia is not known, as most sufferers do not display any risk factors for the disease. However scientists have begun to understand how certain changes in DNA can cause leukemia. Cancer can be caused by mutation oncogenes, the genes that control when cells divide. A translocation between chromosomes 2 and 22 causes almost all cases of childhood chronic myeloid leukemia and childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia. Other genetic mutations can be inherited, however most of the mutations that cause leukemia develop after birth. Environmental factors, when combined with a genetic predisposition for leukemia, may trigger the disease. However the cause of most pediatric leukemia remains unknown.

Washington University School of Medicine and St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital have teamed up to identify genetic mutations that cause pediatric cancer. There are over 600 patient's genes being analyzed. The tumor cells are compared to the patients healthy cells and the differences are recorded. The program is trying to identify a mutation that causes a healthy cell to turn into a cancerous one. This in turn can help scientists develop new treatments to help young cancer patients.

If a mutation occurs in a person's genes it can cause cancer. The future of cancer therapy is identifying and targeting these mutations. A trial at the University of Florida, known as NSCABP-FC-7 takes the genetic fingerprint of a patients DNA and gives them a personalized treatment based on the information. The idea is to move away from the traditional cytotoxic treatment, and towards less toxic personalized medicine. However, the toxicity of cancer drugs is decreasing due to technology's increasing ability to target and destroy specific cells, and not healthy cells. Washington University St. Louis as well as other institutions have become part of the study. Overall, the future of cancer treatment lies in targeted therapies and personalized medicine.

Using the ISOpure computational purification tool, scientists and medical professionals can develop a prognosis and treatment plan for a certain cancer patients at a much quicker rate. The tool used in this process can help identify the cancerous tissue located in the organs and provide medical professionals further notice of the proportion of RNA originating from cancer cells allowing them to develop treatment plans ahead of time. ISOpure uses an algorithm which determines the proportion of RNA in the organ(s). The real challenges of developing these treatments is of course extracting a portion of tissue with both a normal profile and a cancer profile to predict the spread of the disease. After this portion of tissue has been extracted the ISOpure modeling can process the data using simple MATLAB software. The success of this computational tool is noted to improve the prediction of extra-prostatic-extension (EPE) by 10% in cancer profiles compared to the unpurified models.