Science is changing! 

3,000 chemicals and each chemical will have a fingerprint 

Paul G. McDonough / Fertility and Sterility v.75, i.5, May01

The time-honored approach to this type of challenge has been to investigate one chemical or one gene at a time. ...Times are changing.

McDonough, Paul G. MD
Professor Emeritus
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Genetics 
Medical College of Georgia
Tel: 706- 721-3832
pmcdonou@mail.mcg.edu

First paragraph of article only

Is it a specific component of smoke or the other habits connected with smoking that affect fertility? As indicated by the investigators, the question is daunting, since there over 3,000 different chemical compounds in cigarette smoke . The time-honored approach to this type of challenge has been to investigate one chemical or one gene at a time. Times are changing and the genome projects have made available and upgraded many global methodologies such as nucleic acid microarrays, tandem mass spectroscopy, comparative genomic hybridization, and combinatorial chemistry. These technologies, driven by parallel developments in the computational sciences, have given us the tools for large-scale, automated high-throughput scientific investigation. These ''big tools'' are creating new approaches for scientific discovery, changing the philosophy of scientific investigation, and erasing the borders between different scientific disciplines.