Editorial Features

  Through whole-exome sequencing, scientists now have a clearer look at the genetic mechanisms that govern exfoliation syndrome, a common cause of blindness in the elderly.   Don’t be fooled by its name, exfoliation syndrome has nothing to do with the removal of dead skin cells. Instead, the syndrome is characterised by the build-up of […]

  It’s not true that genomic sequencing has relegated family history taking to the backseat in health risk assessments. In fact, comprehensive family history data can complement genomic analysis and advance precision medicine. When it comes to defining what family means, it’s all relative. Around the world, familial relationships can have different connotations. Consider the […]

   Debilitating and life-threatening rare diseases can remain undiagnosed for years, sometimes even for life. Precision medicine could change that.                                                                          […]

  Clinicians like Saumya Jamuar are laying the groundwork to harness the diagnostic potential of genomic sequencing technology to improve the lives of children with rare diseases. (Photo Credit: KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital ) The beginnings of cardiac surgery in the mid-twentieth century would see a child with a hole in his heart sent […]

  With several different subtypes, causes and therapies, diagnosing and managing diabetes have become a complicated problem. Precision medicine could hold the answer. Diabetes is a serious issue in Singapore, where 400,000 people suffer from the chronic disease. By 2030, however, that number is set to increase by 50 percent to 600,0001, driven by changing […]

  Singapore’s Undiagnosed Disease Program is leveraging genomic sequencing technology to provide a diagnosis to more patients, helping end their diagnostic odysseys. More than 350 million people around the world suffer from one of more than 6,000 known rare diseases.[1] For many of these patients and their families, the journey to discovering the underlying cause, […]

  Precision diagnostics could help detect gastric cancer early, buying patients crucial time to seek life-saving treatments. Every year, around 300 Singaporeans lose the battle against gastric cancer.1 This number is particularly tragic because gastric cancer can be treated—when caught early. The reality, however, is that most patients only find out when it is already […]

Armed with cutting-edge technologies, scientists have assembled the first-ever gapless sequence of the entire human genome, providing new DNA puzzle pieces for precision medicine to probe. After more than a decade of research and nearly US$3 billion dollars, scientists triumphantly announced the sequencing of the human genome in 2003. Since then, the landmark Human Genome […]

Other pieces of the Precision Medicine puzzle Besides your genes, what else affects your health? Here, we guide you through ‘omics approaches for investigating disease and advancing precision medicine. Previously, we saw how your DNA can impact health and disease. As important as it is, genomics alone won’t capture the full picture of all the […]

It may be commonly inherited and potentially life-threatening, but familial hypercholesterolemia remains an underdiagnosed and undertreated condition. Precision medicine could change that. Mei Yen was just 21 when she started getting occasional chest pains. At the time, she still thought of cardiovascular disease as an affliction that only pertained to the old and overweight. Nevertheless, […]