Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Management
Tropical Medicine
Biology
Urology
Innovators rely on predefined links and create links on their own. For example, substituting a
beneficial organism for a potentially hazardous one, as in replacement therapy, has been practiced
for decades. Eating yogurt, for example, populates the stomach with benign acidophilus bacilli,
displacing less beneficial bacteria. The same technique is being used with Streptococcus bacteria that
have been modified by recombinant DNA techniques so as not to produce cavity-producing acids that
attack the tooth's enamel. The idea is to displace the natural bacteria that cause tooth decay by
using a mouthwash composed of benign bacteria that will displace the acid-producing variety.
Innovation in bioinformatics is occurring in the same way. Researchers are using the links provided
by Entrez and other online services and supplementing them with their own to test new hypotheses,
verify the findings or theories of others, and otherwise advance their understanding of life.
