Taking a functional genomics approach in molecular medicine

The elucidation of genetic components of human diseases at the molecular le vel provides crucial information for developing future causal therapeutic i ntervention. High-throughput genome sequencing and systematic experimental approaches are fuelling strategic programs designed to investigate gene fun ction at the biochemical, cellular and organism levels. Bioinformatics is o ne important tool in functional genomics, although showing clear limitation s in predicting ab initio gene structures, gene function and protein folds from raw sequence data. Systematic large-scale data-set generation, using t he same type of experiments that are used to decipher the function of singl e genes, are being applied on entire genomes. Comparative genomics, establi shment of gene catalogues, and investigation of cellular and tissue molecul ar profiles are providing essential tools for understanding gene function i n complex biological networks.