Sir Shankar Balasubramanian a revolution in medicine
Did you know that Sir Shankar Balasubramanian is responsible for a revolution in medicine?
This programme is available NOW on Demand on the BBC Discovery Page and is available until Tuesday 29th of March. It will also broadcast on Sunday the 27th of March in Phuket at 8:30 AM on 91.5 FM and 102.5 FM and Online via the Internet radio portals.
The method he invented for reading, at speed, the unique genetic code that makes each one of us who we are, is ten million times faster than the technology that was used in the human genome project at the turn of the century.
What’s more, it can be done much more cheaply than before and on a desktop machine. And it’s transforming healthcare, by helping us to understand the genetic basis of many diseases (particularly cancers) and to develop new diagnostic tests, medicines and personalised treatments.
‘DNA has never failed to keep me excited and curious’
says Sir Shankar Balasubramanian winner of the highly prestigious 2022 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences.
Sir Shankar Balasubramanian game changer
He didn’t set out to create a game-changing technology or to make a lot of money.
He just wanted to understand the DNA double helix in the greatest possible detail; to reveal how it worked, molecule by molecule.
And he still rides a rickety old bicycle to work in Cambridge.
Image ©University of Cambridge
So much to learn from our Sunday EDUtainment schedule.
