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GE3LS Digest - November 19, 2008

Extra-Nutritious Bioengineered Foods Still Years Away – November 3, 2008
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/02/AR2008110201939.html
For years, advocates of agricultural biotechnology have promised a future in which foods will be genetically engineered to give more nutrition and to prevent chronic diseases, in which crops will be modified to thrive in salty soil or hot or dry climates and in which consumers will benefit directly from science's ability to tweak other characteristics of plants. So far, however, that has generally not happened, and the main beneficiaries of agricultural biotechnology remain farmers battling pests and weeds that threaten staple crops such as soybeans, corn and cotton, as well as the companies that develop and produce genetically modified seeds. But last week, consumers were reminded of what might be available in the future. Researchers at the British-government-sponsored John Innes Center announced that they had developed a purple tomato that has high levels of beneficial anthocyanins -- antioxidants known to neutralize potentially harmful oxygen molecules, or free radicals, in the body and reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. The genes for the purple tomato came from snapdragons.

Cloning from the grave: Scientists create new life from a mouse that has been frozen for 16 years – November 5, 2008
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1082776/Cloning-grave-Scientists-create-new-life-mouse-frozen-16-YEARS.html
Scientists have created clones of a mouse that had been dead and frozen for 16 years.
It is the first time they have been able to clone a frozen animal. The Japanese researchers say their work will benefit mankind - and could be used to bring back extinct animals such as the woolly mammoth or sabre tooth tigerBut ethical watchdogs branded the experiment disturbing. Critics say it brings the world closer to the day when people try to clone long- dead relatives stored in cryopreservation clinics. It could even lead to a macabre new industry - in which people leave behind 'relics' of their bodies in freezers in the hope that they could one day be cloned.  The gullible might be persuaded that they themselves could be brought back to life, complete with their memories, even though a clone would be a different person in almost everything except appearance.

Most Parents Don't Overreact to Child Gene Tests – November 5, 2008
http://health.msn.com/kids-health/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100219892
Family history and genetic testing trigger an equal amount of concern among parents when it comes to assessing their children's risk of disease, a new study suggests. The findings, by researchers at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, seem to contradict fears that people may give too much clout to a genetic test result. "We were surprised to find that parents were not overly concerned about a child's genetic test result compared to a child's genetic risk that comes from family history," study lead author Dr. Beth A. Tarini, an assistant professor of pediatrics, said in a university news release."Our findings suggest that even as genetic tests become more accessible, family history will likely remain a meaningful part of a child's health evaluation and our discussions with parents," said Tarini, who is a member of the Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit at Mott.The researchers asked about 2,000 parents to assess their level of concern for their own and their children's genetic disease risk based on family history and genetic testing. While the parents rated family history and genetic testing the same for their children, they were more likely to be worried when family history -- but not genetic testing -- indicated they may be at risk for developing a disease.

Heated battle over stem-cells ends as Prop 2 passes: Voters approve fewer limits on using embryos for research – November 5, 2008
http://www.freep.com/article/20081105/NEWS15/811050448/1215
The proposal to loosen restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research in Michigan passed early this morning as election results trickled in from across the state. The initiative was up 52%-48%, with 87% of precincts reporting, mirroring an exit poll conducted for the Free Press and other media outlets. The vote was 2,143,101 in favor to 1,945,035 against.
Proposal 2 would amend the state constitution to allow Michigan researchers to use embryos left over from fertility treatments to create embryonic stem-cell lines for disease research. It is currently prohibited to destroy an embryo for "nontherapeutic" purposes, and is illegal to donate an embryo to science. Proponents, led by the bipartisan group Cure Michigan, contend that the embryos would likely be thrown away, and that because the recently discovered embryonic stem cell can form nearly every cell in the human body, it has untold potential for curing diseases. "We're cautiously optimistic, but we're watching the returns," said Chris DeWitt, Cure Michigan spokesperson. Opponents, led by Right to Life of Michigan and the Michigan Catholic Conference through a group called Michigan Citizens Against Unrestricted Science and Experimentation or MiCAUSE -- object to the destruction of embryos on religious grounds and say the proposal as written would limit the state Legislature's ability to regulate the research. They also campaigned on the grounds that Michigan taxpayers would foot the bill for embryonic stem-cell research, a claim rejected by advocates, including Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

Cancer genetic blueprint revealed – November 6, 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7706487.stm
Scientists have decoded the complete DNA of a cancer patient and traced her disease to its genetic roots. The Washington University team identified 10 gene mutations which appeared key to the development of the woman's acute myeloid leukaemia.
Just two of these had been linked to the disease before. The sequencing technique, described in the journal Nature, could be applied to other cancers and aid the design of targeted drugs. The researchers took two samples from the woman in her 50s - who later died from the disease - and examined the DNA for differences. One sample was taken from healthy skin cells, the other from bone marrow tissue made up of cancerous cells. They found that virtually every cell in the tumour sample had nine of the key mutations.

Ethical Risks Of The Neurosciences – November 6, 2008
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/128362.php
The Neuroethics Society will hold its first annual meeting on November 13-14 in Washington where some 300 specialists are expected. Eric Racine of the Université de Montréal Faculty of Medicine will be one of those researchers and a member of the Neuroethics Society scientific committee. In 2002, there were no specialists in the field of neuroethics. But doctors, philosophers, jurists and bioethicists met in San Francisco at the "Neuroethics: Mapping the Field" conference organized by Stanford University, which shed light on this new discipline. "Shortly after, programs were set up in the USA and Canada," says Racine. "Neuroethics is a new field focused on the new advances, stakes and risks in neuroscience," says Racine. "For instance, some research addresses euthanasia for patients suffering serious neurological problems. Other areas of interest include prescription medications that affect the central nervous system, such as Ritalin, that are taken to increase cognitive performance." Brain fingerprinting, another example, is a technique used to measure brain waves when one recognizes an image, a sound or specific information. The technology is currently used in India to charge presumed criminals. In February 2003, the Iowa Supreme Court recognized the validity of brain fingerprinting. This means, the technology could soon be used to know if someone trained in an Al-Qaeda camp, for instance, which worries Racine.

EFSA opinion discounts French GM maize fears – November 6, 2008
http://www.foodnavigator.com/Legislation/EFSA-opinion-discounts-French-GM-maize-fears
French claims that a genetically modified maize product poses a potential health risk have been disputed by a newly published scientific report by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The panel on Genetically Modified Organisms concluded that “in terms of risk to human and animal health and the environment, the provided information package does not present new scientific evidence that would invalidate the previous risk assessments of maize MON810”. Maize MON810 is the only genetically modified (GM) crop approved in the EU, although not for human consumption. It has been cultivated for animal feed since 1998 and requires a review every ten years. However, France’s staunch anti-GM stance is seen as a barrier to GM food in Europe. GM advocates have said that its opposition to the technology is impeding innovation and competitiveness in the EU.

In a Novel Theory of Mental Disorders, Parents’ Genes Are in Competition – November 10, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/11/health/research/11brain.html?ref=science
Two scientists, drawing on their own powers of observation and a creative reading of recent genetic findings, have published a sweeping theory of brain development that would change the way mental disorders like autism and schizophrenia are understood.
Skip to next paragraph The theory emerged in part from thinking about events other than mutations that can change gene behavior. And it suggests entirely new avenues of research, which, even if they prove the theory to be flawed, are likely to provide new insights into the biology of mental disease. ….Their idea is, in broad outline, straightforward. Dr. Crespi and Dr. Badcock propose that an evolutionary tug of war between genes from the father’s sperm and the mother’s egg can, in effect, tip brain development in one of two ways. A strong bias toward the father pushes a developing brain along the autistic spectrum, toward a fascination with objects, patterns, mechanical systems, at the expense of social development. A bias toward the mother moves the growing brain along what the researchers call the psychotic spectrum, toward hypersensitivity to mood, their own and others’. This, according to the theory, increases a child’s risk of developing schizophrenia later on, as well as mood problems like bipolar disorder and depression.

Survey finds wide public support for nationwide study of genes, environment and lifestyle – November 12, 2008
http://www.physorg.com/news145720943.html
Four in five Americans support the idea of a nationwide study to investigate the interactions of genes, environment and lifestyle, and three in five say they would be willing to take part in such a study, according to a survey released today. The research was conducted by the Genetics and Public Policy Center at Johns Hopkins University with funding from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In a plenary session at the American Society of Human Genetics' annual meeting in Philadelphia, and in a paper published in the advance online edition of Genetics in Medicine, researchers presented results of their survey that sought public opinions about the prospect of a national study that would bank DNA and other biological samples from thousands of volunteers and track the volunteers' health over time. Researchers often refer to this type of study as a cohort study, with one of the best-known examples being the Framingham Heart Study in Massachusetts. "Our survey found that widespread support exists in the general public for a large, genetic cohort study. What's more, we found little variation in that support among different demographic groups," said David Kaufman, Ph.D., lead author of the paper and project director at the Genetics and Public Policy Center, which is located in Washington.

Bad old genes – November 13, 2008
http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12592274&fsrc
Down’s syndrome, muscular dystrophy and haemophilia may be among the best-known genetic diseases, but they are most certainly not alone. Several thousand human genes are linked, when they fail to work properly, to more than 4,000 heritable genetic diseases. Moreover, only a handful of these diseases are treatable. Any way of systematising knowledge about them would thus be welcome, starting with features that the genes which cause diseases have in common. On the face of it, genes that cause diseases do share one thing: they are, in a technical sense, non-essential. Deactivating these genes during embryonic development does not kill the embryo (if it did, then that embryo would be stillborn). This observation has led to the assumption that disease-related genes are recently evolved—for the older a gene is, the more likely it is to be part of the irreducible structure of being alive, and therefore the more likely it is that breaking that gene will be fatal. Another reason for expecting that disease-related genes would be recently evolved is that the older a gene is, the more likely it is that errors and weaknesses that could lead to disease will have been eliminated by natural selection.

New Drug Bypasses Gene Mutations: A compound that helps cells produce normal proteins from wonky genes could have a broad impact on genetic diseases.  – November 14, 2008
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/21670/
A novel drug that enables the production of normal proteins from mutated DNA might one day help people with a variety of genetic diseases. The drug has shown promise as a treatment for cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophy, and it is now being tested in large, international clinical trials. Most drugs alter the activity of proteins after they're manufactured, but the new drug intervenes in the cellular machinery that makes the proteins in the first place. Consequently, it could be effective against diseases where completely different proteins go awry. "It's a great breakthrough," says Robert Singer, a biologist at the Albert Einstein Medical School, in New York, who is not involved with the company that produces the drug. Severe genetic disorders, such as muscular dystrophy, result from mutations in genes that code for vital proteins. In some cases, the mutation is a misplaced genetic stop sign, a sequence that tells the cellular machinery to halt production before the protein is complete. The result can be a truncated, ineffective version of the protein, or none at all. The new drug, being developed by PTC Therapeutics, a startup in South Plainfield, NJ, allows the cellular machinery to essentially skip over these aberrant stop signs and produce normal molecules.

Report highlights need for nanomaterial safety research – November 14, 2008
http://www.scidev.net/en/news/report-highlights-need-for-nanomaterial-safety-res.html
The rising popularity of nanomaterials is outstripping efforts to understand their potential dangers, says a report. It calls for international collaboration to establish safety tests and regulatory oversight of the materials. The UK-based Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution says that while the materials have so far shown no sign of being harmful, there is a "major gap" in research about their potential risks. Nanomaterials — whose tiny components are less than 0.1 micrometres in size but larger than molecules — are prized because their properties differ from those of their larger-scale counterparts. These new properties can be unforeseen. For example, the behaviour of carbon nanotubes — markedly different from that of graphite, another form of carbon — is hard to predict.
But different nanomaterials present different potential risks, so it is important to categorise these materials based not only on their size but also their functionality, says the report.

Furious dads not only ones wanting tests – November 14, 2008
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24648918-23289,00.html
Angry fathers wanting to shirk financial responsibility are not the only group of people going to court over paternity issues. In an analysis of legal cases in which people intentionally seek a genetic test, US researcher Gregory Kaebnick found that women seeking testing to impose paternal responsibilities were also highly represented. Dr Kaebnick -- from the Hastings Center in Garrison, New York -- also found two other categories: women attempting to deny paternity rights, and men seeking to obtain them. Lyn Turney, a sociologist at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne who has studied the experiences of people involved in paternity tests, said that Dr Kaebnick's categories also applied in Australia, although people had many motivations for wanting DNA paternity tests. "I think most fathers (who seek testing) have a genuine desire to be the father of the child," Dr Turney said. James Fitzclarence would certainly agree. His relationship with his child's mother broke up shortly after she became pregnant. From previous experience, Mr Fitzclarence had come to believe he could not have children and this was the child he had always wanted. Despite his wishes to be involved, the child was born without him even knowing. He hired a solicitor and with the co-operation of the mother, who had previously declared she was not certain he was the father, he paid for genetic tests. They proved he was the father of his daughter Katya, now four years old. Eventually, he was able to establish a close relationship with her. 

Could genetic research awaken racist attitudes? – November 17, 2008
http://www.physorg.com/news146158609.html
People are different, both physically and mentally, but genetically everyone is very similar. That's been the thought of scientists for decades now. But with population research becoming more and more common, the University of Alberta's Tim Caulfield is concerned that genetic research could awaken racist attitudes. Just last year Nobel Prize winning geneticist James Watson claimed there are genes responsible for creating differences in human intelligence. These comments made international headlines and Watson later apologized. Caulfield knows that studying racial groups is important. For example, if a researcher is studying health disparities in the United States, they want to know why African Americans have poorer outcomes than those of European descent.
"In that case you're not saying that there's a biological difference because you're incorporating social and economic factors to that definition," said Caulfield. But it's cases where studies look to identify a gene in a population group where things can get complicated. For those research projects, Caulfield brought together an interdisciplinary group to discuss the concerns of the scientific community and come up with ways to avoid it. This group included professionals in anthropology, bioethics, clinical medicine and law among a number of others.

The Revolution Will Be Personalized: A Cautious HHS Report on the Latest Buzz In Medicine – November 18, 2008
http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/11/the-revolution-will-be-personalized/
“Personalized medicine” is the hot new buzz phrase in medicine. Why settle for diagnostic tests or therapies that were designed for the average patient, the thinking goes, when doctors can use new technology to pinpoint the specific details of your bodily biology and tailor tests and treatments to your exact medical situation? The idea has potential and may gradually catch on as gene tests and other new technologies become more accurate and affordable. But a candid new report from the Department of Health and Human Services balances those lofty promises with a tally of the daunting challenges that scientists, doctors, patients, and insurers will face as the American healthcare behemoth tries to make the leap to the personalized medicine paradigm. The issue is gaining importance because healthcare reform is high on the agendas of both Congress and the new president in the coming year. Proponents of personalized medicine want to make sure that whatever reforms are instituted do not undercut progress toward a more personalized future. At the same time, one can’t help but conclude, on the basis of the HHS report, that it is going to be an uphill battle to justify some of the upfront costs of the personalized medicine revolution, given the many technical, political, and educational hurdles that stand between where we are and where we want to get.