ABSTRACT
T he evolurion from classical genetics to molecular genetics and genetic engineering has revealed the immense potential o f gene manipulation for basic sci ence, medicine, and biotechnology. The pro found impact o f genetics on modern society is becoming increasingly evident in many different areas o f our daily life. In health care, identification and characterization o f genes involved in genetic diseases has already led to significant contributions to diagnosis and to both an understanding o f therapy and sug gestions for therapies (including gene therapy). Often a strategic alliance between various dis ciplines is necessary to successfully pursue novel genes involved in genetic diseases such as can cer and developmental syndromes. The objec tives o f such research are to identify pathogenetically relevant genes through molecular analysis o f cytogenetically well-defined chro mosome aberrations, to characterize the prod ucts o f these genes, to elucidate the functions o f the proteins encoded by them, and to con sider these in the context o f the observed mal formations or cancer. As such genes are most likely elements of more complex cascades, they can be considered as starting points to further unravel these, resulting in a better understand ing of the molecular mechanisms involved in tumorigenesis as well as biological development.
