Definition of Gene array analysis Gene array analysis: A way of
analyzing the differential expression of thousands of species of
mRNA (messenger RNA) at the same time in two different samples
(as, for example, in normal vs. tumor tissue, or at different
developmental stages). Gene array analysis involves synthesizing
labeled cDNA (complementary DNA) from 2 or more sources, and
hybridizing them to identical gene arrays. This procedure can be
done in standard molecular biology laboratories with basic
instrumentation. Gene array analysis is an extraordinarily
powerful tool in molecular biology today and is expected to
shape the molecular medicine of tomorrow. Many diseases will be
defined in a "customized" fashion according to the array of
genes in the particular patient affected. Not only diseases, but
also optimal treatments, will be put into discrete categories
according to the diagnostic gene array of the person being
evaluated. Medicine will not be practiced in the same way in
2050 as it was in 2000, thanks