Let a thousand genomes bloom

Genetic researchers in China, Britain and the United States are teaming up to unravel the full genetic code of at least 1,000 people around the world – an unprecedented scientific project that could cost tens of millions of dollars and eventually reveal the roots of hundreds of diseases. The 1000 Genomes Project will examine the human genome at a level of detail that no one has done before,” Richard Durbin of Britain’s Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, who is the project consortium’s co chair, said in today’s announcement. “Such a project would have been unthinkable two years ago. Today, thanks to amazing strides in sequencing technology, bioinformatics and population genomics, it is now within our grasp.

Site – http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com

StemLifeLine

StemLifeLine is a life sciences company offering a novel service for individuals who have undergone in vitro fertilization, fulfilled their childbearing needs and now have to decide what to do with their remaining stored embryos. We can help transform these embryos into individual stem cell lines that our clients may one day use to create personalized therapies for themselves and their families. Think of our service as insurance for the future. With more than a decade of scientific research supporting the future use of embryonic stem cells and several therapies currently under development, personalized therapies based on an individual’s own genetic make-up may be just around the corner.

Site – http://www.stemlifeline.com

Landmark Genome Study Shows Complexity of Human ‘Code’

In what is being hailed as a landmark in understanding the human genome, scientists from over 35 research centers around the world released a collaborative study Wednesday afternoon showing that our genetic makeup is much more complicated than previously thought. The collaboration of researchers, known as the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements — or ENCODE — consortium, looked at roughly 1 percent of the entire human genome, concluding that the 95 percent of the genome previously believed to be superfluous actually plays a major role in regulating how DNA expresses itself.

Site – http://www.abcnews.go.com

Researchers Detect Variations in DNA That Underlie Seven Common Diseases

Applying a new genomic technique to a large group of patients, researchers in Britain have detected DNA variations that underlie seven common diseases, discovering unexpected links between them. The variations pinpoint biological pathways underlying each of the diseases, and researchers hope that as the pathways are analyzed, new drugs and treatments will emerge. The seven common diseases are bipolar disorder, coronary artery disease, Crohn’s disease, hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis, and Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Unveiling the complex genetics of common diseases was the promised payoff of the $3 billion human genome project, completed in 2003, but progress was slow until the recent development of devices that in a single operation can read the DNA sequence at up to 500,000 points across an individual’s genome. With the devices, called chips, researchers can compare large numbers of patients with healthy individuals, looking for points of differences in their genomes that may be associated with disease.

Site – http://www.nytimes.com

$10 million prize for mapping human genomes

The foundation that inspired a private sector race to space announced a new $10 million prize on Wednesday — this time to inspire a race to sequence the human genetic map faster and cheaper. Although scientists have mapped one person’s genome — by both public and private efforts — it was time-consuming and expensive. The X-Prize Foundation wants to inspire someone to map 100 different human genomes in just 10 days. And just to spice things up, it is offering another $1 million if the team can decode the genomes of 100 more people, including some wealthy donors and celebrities such as Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and Google co-founder Larry Page.

Site – http://www.cnn.com

Scientists Say They’ve Found a Code Beyond Genetics in DNA

Researchers believe they have found a second code in DNA in addition to the genetic code. The second code, superimposed on the first, sets the placement of the nucleosomes, miniature protein spools around which the DNA is looped.

Site – http://www.nytimes.com

Encyclopedia of all human gene mutations planned

A plan for a global database of all human gene mutations has been announced in Australia. The Human Variome Project could allow doctors to rapidly diagnose patients with rare genetic conditions and could ultimately lead to new treatments for diseases. About 100,000 human gene mutations have been discovered, but this total represents only about 5% of the predicted total number of mutations.

Site – http://www.newscientist.com

Anti-Aging Molecule Discovered

A team of South Korean scientists on Sunday claimed to have created a “cellular fountain of youth,’’ or a small molecule, which enables human cells to avoid aging and dying. The team, headed by Prof. Kim Tae-kook at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, argued the newly-synthesized molecule, named CGK733, can even make cells younger.

Site – http://times.hankooki.com

Is Defeating Aging Only a Dream?

Last year, Technology Review announced a $20,000 prize for any molecular biologist who could demonstrate that a much-publicized prescription for defeating aging by biogerontologist Aubrey de Grey was “so wrong that it was unworthy of learned debate.” The purpose of the challenge was to determine whether de Grey’s proposals, called SENS (for Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence), were science or fantasy.

Site – http://www.technologyreview.com

Researchers find gene linked to asthma

What makes our find so special is that we found an individual immunological gene that seems to be directly connected to the risk of developing asthma,” the head of the research team, Torben Kruse, said. “Scientists have never been able to say the same before. Other findings have been described as possibly having an effect on allergies and eczema.

Site – http://www.physorg.com

Final Human Chromosome Mapped

Scientists have reached a landmark point in one of the world’s most important scientific projects by sequencing the last chromosome in the Human Genome, the so-called “book of life.” Chromosome 1 contains nearly twice as many genes as the average chromosome and makes up eight percent of the human genetic code. It is packed with 3,141 genes and linked to 350 illnesses including cancer, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Site – http://www.wired.com

The Genomic Revolution

The National Academies Keck Futures Initiative announced the recipients of its 2005 grants for interdisciplinary research on genomics and infectious disease. Projects awarded funding address research areas such as malaria, monkeypox, Crohn’s disease, and rapid microbial diagnostics. The winners attended a conference held last November that explored new methods to identify, diagnose, and treat infectious disease using biotechnology and genomics. A conference summary is available.

Site – http://www.nationalacademies.org