Singing student makes accidental DNA discovery at BYU
Source: SBG
A BYU graduate student has made a discovery he says could change the way we understand diseases.
And this discovery was all by accident.
Paul Bodily, who is working toward a doctorate degree in computer science, was surprised by his discovery while he was working on assembling strands of DNA for study.
"I sat back for a minute and realized, wait a minute, this really could happen," Bodily said. "It does happen, and it is happening."
Bodily, a former member of an a capella group Vocal Point, was using computers to break apart and look at DNA. He was working on the project with his professor, Mark Clement, and some fellow students. But something seemed off.
"We thought there was an error in the data or where there was an error in our algorithm," Clement said.
They soon realized there was no mistake. They had accidentally come up with a better way to re-connect those strands of DNA and see the details much more clearly.
"We could detect when they were turned around backwards," Clement said.
Why should anyone care?
Because �C researchers say �C this new tool can help scientists better identify diseases like autism, diabetes and Alzheimer's.
"It's hard to treat a condition if you aren't even able to see what's causing it," Bodily said.
Bodily said this work isn't just about school. For him, it's personal.
"I have a grandma who has Alzheimer's disease," Bodily said. He hopes his work in this field will shed light on the toughest diseases out there and "make a difference for people."
Bodily and his team recently published their findings in an academic journal. From here, they plan to use their new discovery to study more DNA strands and try to better understand Alzheimer's disease.
When he and his fellow students aren't working hard, Bodily might be found brushing up on his singing or otherwise having fun with his colleagues.
Clement, the group's faculty adviser, said the students' work unites them in their goal of accomplishing big things.
"They're not just writing programs for some abstract webpage or something," Clement said. "They really are convinced that they can make a difference in the world."
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