Danny Hillis: Understanding cancer through proteomics

http://www.ted.com Danny Hills makes a case for the next frontier of cancer research: proteomics, the study of proteins in the body. As Hillis explains it, genomics shows us a list of the ingredients of the body -- while proteomics shows us what those ingredients produce. Understanding what's going on in your body at the protein level may lead to a new understanding of how cancer happens.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate.

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Science & Technology

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[notreveh]

Only 4188 views in such an awesome video and millions and millions of views in a Justin Bieber video?! Something is wrong with the world...

[alyssamichelle135]

@ dalyom37: it's not a stretch. This isn't actally "new;" it's the direction things are already going. Thanks for your insight. With folks like you, we'll never learn to survive cancer. As for "many cancers" being the result of translocations of genes: I believe that only CML has been shown as such; there's a translocation at 9:22. Can you name others? Or are you assuming? Possibly exaggerating? I further disagree that you must know the "source if you are to find a cure." Not so.

[Alcatrazx007]

LOL custom treatment, generic treatment of cancer is expensive!!!

[fipacunha]

Fantastic Talk. One of the main problems in research is getting the same result for the same issue. For Danny cancer is something we do not something we have, Cancering. His technique will allow us to predict the best treatment for EACH person and also will bring us a revolution in the way we see the body because we no longer see it in parts but as a whole. Drugs should solve the origin of the disease rather than alleviate symptoms. To understand the origin we must see the body as a whole.

[dorian1010]

@Reasonabledoctor Well if you wanted to be really pedantic you would say that genes are the blueprints for the protein. The expression of proteins is controlled to a large extent by signal transduction pathways, assembly of transcription factors, epigenetics and of course post-translational modification. In fact the only way in which a gene could control its expression is through its promoter region either causing increased or diminished transcription.

[andreeaweed]

how cancer happens...if we really be able to understand that, we be able to find a cure for...

[sgtmcwallace]

one of the most terrific ted talks ive seen, and ive seen a lot, christopher hitchens should watch this