Genetic Pattern of SyphilisIn 1998, scientists at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston and the Institute for Genomic Research in Rockville, Md., say they have mapped the 1.1 million base pairs of DNA that make up the syphilis genome. Thus, the researchers have mapped the entire genetic pattern of the syphilis bacterium. This breakthrough may lead to a new vaccine that will prevent infection by the microbe, and, eventually, eradication of a sexually transmitted disease that has been a worldwide scourge for 500 years. It was reported by the Associated Press on 16 July that details of the work would be published in that week's issue of the journal Science. |
