Genome Alberta GeneSnips Newsletter - Winter 2008

Volume I Issue 2

A Monthly Glimpse Into the World of Genome Alberta
-March 17, 2008-

In this Issue:

  • Genome Alberta News
  • GE3LS Digest
  • Genome Alberta in Pictures


Genome Alberta News  

  • Board of Directors Meet
    Genome Alberta’s Board of Directors met this past week in Edmonton. There were reports from the President and CEO, David Bailey, Chief Scientific Officer Gijs van Rooijen, and Communications Director Mike Spear. After only a week in his new role as our new Chief Financial Officer Bhaskar Dave was there as well to giv ea financial report. Also on hand to give a brief presentation was Gaetan Lussier, Chair of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute in Ottawa. CAPI was created in late 2005 as a non-profit corporation to be an independent voice on agri-food policy issues. Monsieur Lussier provided an interesting perspective and spoke about the long term mission of CAPI to see a “Canadian rural renaissance rooted in agricultural production and processing, new opportunities and profitability for the primary agricultural sector, healthier citizens, serving global niche markets based on the Canadian advantage, and a safe sustainable environment”.
    You can find more on CAPI at www.capi-icpa.ca

  • Guide to Personal Genome Kits
    Ever wondered just what there is to a thousand dollar genetic test kit? Or even the DNA ancestry test available for $139.99 from Best Buy? Genome Alberta’s Director of Communications has gone out on a limb and is having 3 tests done. He will be writing about iton our new blog pages, doing media interviews and generally sharing the process, the results, and the pros and cons of each test. He’ll also be drawing on Genome Alberta’s network of experts to help navigate this new world of personal genotyping.
    Look for his first entry at http://genomealberta.ca/blogs/Mikenomics_.aspx and listen to CBC Radio in Alberta at noon on Monday to hear the first interview about the project.

  • New Blog Pages
    We have revised our blog pages to provide a cleaner look, more efficient searching, and added a blog from the Mountain Pine Beetle Project team. You can see the new pages, read the entries and subscribe to the RSS feed by going to http://genomealberta.ca/blogs/

  • Geee! in Genome
    Alberta was ready to take up the challenge when a problem down East left the Geee! in Genome with no place to kick off its cross country tour. Thanks to the Telus Science Centre in Edmonton and the quick work of staff at Genome Canada, Genome Alberta and the Canadian Museum of Nature, the 2500 sq ft exhibit was unloaded from 2 semi-trailers last week and will open on March 19th at 11:00 am.
    Federal Minister of Inter-governmental Affairs and Minister of Western Economic Diversity, the Honourable Rona Ambrose and the Honourable Doug Horner , Provincial Minister of Advanced Education and Technology will be on hand to open the exhibit. One of Alberta’s outstanding young people, Emily Cooley will be speaking as well. Emily won top prize at last year’s National Science Fair.

  • And the results are in ….
    The PC’s won the election earlier this month, and on March 12th Premier Ed Stelmach announced his new cabinet. Gene Snips readers will be most interested to know that Doug Horner remains as Minister of Advanced Education and Technology. Also of note are Ron Liepert in Health and Wellness, Mel Knight at the Energy helm, and George Groeneveld driving Agriculture and Rural Development.

  • And finally don’t forget our Digital Art Contest.
    We’re open for entries so we’re looking for your work,those of your students, or from family and friends who find that computers have an artistic side. More information on the contest is at http://genomealberta.ca /contestrules.aspx and you can start to vote on entries at http://genomealberta.ca/vote.aspx


GE3LS Digest

Thisis a sample from the GE3LS Digest put out on a regular basis by Genome Alberta’s GE3LS team. If you’d like to receive the full digest, click here

  • Making cells like computers – February 18, 2008
    http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2008/02/18/making_cells_like_computers/

    Craig Venter recently announced that his research institute had synthesized the genome of a bacterium. Upon hearing this, observers across the world anxiously suggested that he was on the verge of "synthesizing life." But Venter has not done what most people mean by "synthesizing life." It is true that he has helped to create a new field that is sometimes called "synthetic biology." Synthetic biologists, however, are far from creating the astonishingly complex systems we call life. Strictly, what Venter did is stitch together segments of commercially produced copies of naturally occurring DNA to produce an almost exact replica of the genome of a bacterium. He hopes that by the end of the year, when he transplants that synthesized genome to a naturally occurring bacterial cell, it will take over the naturally occurring genome's role and direct the cell's activities. His next step, which will be far more difficult, will be to create a stripped-down, "minimal" genome, which will exclude genes that he concludes are irrelevant for creating the gene product she wants.

  • Insurance Fears Lead Many to Shun DNA Tests - February 24, 2008
    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/health/24dna.html?ref =health

    Victoria Grove wanted to find out if she was destined to develop the form of emphysema that ran in her family, but she did not want to ask her doctor for the DNA test that would tell her. She worried that she might not be able to get health insurance, or even a job, if a genetic predisposition showed up in her medical records, especially since treatment for the condition, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, could cost over $100,000 a year. Instead, Ms. Grove sought out a service that sent a test kit to her home and returned the results directly to her. Nor did she tell her doctor when the test revealed that she was virtually certain to get it. Knowing that she could sustain permanent lung damage without immediate treatment for her bouts of pneumonia, she made sure to visit her clinic at the first sign of infection. But then came the day when the nurse who listened to her lungs decided she just had a cold. Ms. Grove begged for a chestX-ray. The nurse did not think it was necessary.

  • Farmers continue to show commitment and support for plant biotechnology in Canada and around the world – February 13, 2008
    http://www.newswire.ca/en /releases/archive/February2008 /13/c9815.html

    Today's farmers are reaping the benefits as the global acreage of biotech crops continue to rise exponentially. According to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA), global biotech crop acres have reached 282.4 million acres in 23 countries in 2007, an increase of 12 percent from 2006. Domestic acceptance of biotech crops has also continued to rise, with the biotech crop acreage in Canada increasing in 2007 to over 17 million acres from 15 in 2006 (ISAAA). The majority of this increase can be attributed to three main crops - soybeans, corn and canola. CropLife Canada released two new reports outlining the successful introduction of GM corn and soybean into the Canadian marketplace showing that GM soy and corn varieties now each command approximately 65 percent of the total acres grown. "The reasons are clear. For farmers, biotech crops provide increased yields, improved disease and insect resistance, and more efficient production," states Dr. Lorne Hepworth, President of CropLife Canada. "In addition to increased productivity per acre, biotech crops allow for reduced tillage preventing soil erosion and moisture loss while reducing greenhouse gas emissions."


Genome Alberta in Pictures


It took 2 semi-trailers to move the Geee! in Genome from Ottawa to Edmonton last week. The crew will be working long hours and through the weekend to have it all ready to be unveiled in Edmonton at the Telus World of Science.
Click the image above to see the full sized images and other scenes from the set-up going on right now.
http://picasaweb.google.com/MikesGene/GeeeInGenome/photo#5178348499551996162


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