Oligo

Oligo

An oligo is a DNA chain that is often used in medicine to identify the bodily presence of diseases and infections. These chains are made of two strands, each composed of four different kinds of nucleotide base units. The various types of oligo are given names based on many base units it contains. For instance, an oligo with ten bases is called ten mer. These base units work to produce mRNA which in turn produces proteins. The laboratories that create pharmaceuticals synthesize these strands via an automated machine.

This synthesizing process turns one-stranded DNA into two-stranded DNA and primes them for practical uses such as forensics, paternity testing, and medical and biological research. It is particularly valuable for this research. By observing it, researchers have discovered more fully how DNA works. And when the researchers can monitor the effects of gene manipulation by observing the effects manipulating an oligo has upon the creature. It has been mentioned that oligos help in the detection of genetic diseases. One of the diseases with which it is most efficient is breast cancer. Using the oligo, doctors can see if a woman has the kind of gene mutation that encourages the onset of breast cancer.

Breast cancer is only one of the diseases that can be detected via an oligo. There are methods available to help not only identify if a virus exists in a person, but pinpointing any one of many types of viruses. They do this by using oligos to create what are called DNA arrays. The hard task of researchers is selecting just the right oligos to make the array. Not all oligos are efficient for every single kind of virus so it matters. That being said, in every array you will want to use one oligo that is called a probe.