5 Ways single cell Genomics is changing healthcare
While DNA sequencing of individual cells has been possible for several decades, recent innovations in fields such as DNA analysis and artificial intelligence are allowing medical professionals to investigate and interpret cellular data to a significantly greater degree, both in a cell’s immediate environment and with relation to the body as a whole.
Author:Karan EmeryReviewer:James PierceSep 30, 202127.8K Shares843.9K Views
Single cellgenomics refers to the study of individual cells using a variety of traditional and technology-driven methods in order to better understand the human body and the medical conditions that affect it. While DNA sequencing of individual cells has been possible for several decades, recent innovations in fields such as DNA analysis and artificial intelligence are allowing medical professionals to investigate and interpret cellular data to a significantly greater degree, both in a cell’s immediate environment and with relation to the body as a whole.
AI-driven single cell analysis allows healthcare professionals to use cellular data in order to obtain a variety of patient-specific information, such as the nature of an illness, the needs of a patient, and how to treat a specific circumstance for a disease. Single cell genomics enables healthcare workers to access the molecular data of every individual cell in a human body, providing information with regards to reasons behind cellular behavior, symptoms as a result of cellular behavior, and solutions to the underlying causes of illness.
The domains of medicine affected by single cell genomics are vast in scope. From cancer to cardiovascular disease, as well as neurological, inflammatory, and infectious illnesses, the information provided by single cell analysis has the potential to revolutionize the way healthcare workers approach the treatments of these conditions and many more. Here are five ways that single cell genomics is changing healthcareand the world.
Earlier Diagnosis Of Illnesses
One of the primary ways that single cell analysis is helping to change the way doctors approach the treatment of illness is by drastically aiding in the process of diagnosis. While in the past doctors had to rely on patients describing their own symptoms and medical tests of various bodily functions and potential markers of disease in isolated conditions, single cell analysis offers medical professionals the potential to examine a patient’s cellular data in a holistic manner, objectively and scientifically.
By allowing medical professionals to study a patient’s cells in relation to each other and how cells are behaving to cause symptoms on the macro level, doctors will potentially be able to discover underlying and latent illnesses and conditions much sooner than they otherwise would be able to, particularly for diseases such as canceror autoimmune diseases. Earlier diagnosis allows treatment to be administered before a patient’s condition deteriorates or a condition worsens, improving the chance of success for treatment and the overall healthcare quality available to patients.
More Targeted Treatments
A better understanding of the mechanisms of cells and how they cause illness also allows doctors to identify and prescribe better treatment solutions for patients that can target the specific causes of an illness on the cellular level. Single cell genomics enables doctors and researchers to gain a better understanding of how abnormal cellular behavior on a granular scale creates disturbances to the overall health of a patient and treat them accordingly. Additionally, a more comprehensive understanding of the nature of cells allows medical researchers to design more effective medications for pre-existing conditions.
Better Understanding Of Symptoms
Historically, the occurrence of symptoms for most illnesses has been derived from a broad and obtuse understanding of the human body. For many illnesses, such as inflammatory and infectious diseases, symptoms were only observed on the scale of organs, while other forms of disease such as neurological conditions lacked even an exact understanding of how the brain was contributing to the effects of the illness.
Although our understanding of these conditions has improved greatly in recent years with advancements in medical observation technology, the ways that illnesses affect the body on a cellular level and how the behavior of affected cells affect symptoms is still not exactly known. Single cell analysis allows for medical researchers to greatly expand their understanding of the effect of various illnesses on the human body by allowing in-depth analysis of how cellular behavior affects the body.
Increased Comprehension Of Cancer
Although single cell genomics offers a variety of opportunities and benefits to research in many areas of medicine, the most obvious field of medical research to benefit from single cell analysis is the study of cancer. Cancer is a single-cell disease, resulting from the uncontrolled division of a mutated cell. By understanding how each transformed cell behaves and how that contributes to the disease overall, scientists will be able to greatly expand their understanding of the condition.
More Holistic Approach To Medicine
Finally, single cell genomics allows doctors to take a more holistic approach to medicine by offering a view of the human body from the cellular level, revealing how every cell interacts with another, and how illnesses precisely disrupt the machinery of life. The study of individual cells offers countless opportunities for medical researchers and scientists to improve the day-to-day healthcare of our lives.
Karan Emery
Author
James Pierce
Reviewer
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