Biotechnology News Archive 01/04 - 12/04
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12/20/04
MS damage repair mechanism found
(BBC News) - MS strips nerves of a protective fatty sheath called myelin, impairing their ability to transmit signals. Researchers at Cambridge and Harvard Universities have discovered a gene called Olig 1 can stimulate the re-growth of myelin. It is hoped the Science study may eventually lead to new treatments.

12/08/04
Complete chicken genome map revealed
(New Scientist) - The chicken has joined an exclusive but rapidly growing club with the publication of its complete genome sequence by an international consortium on Wednesday. The newcomer is the closest relative of mammals sequenced so far, and should provide a crucial point of comparison in studies of mammalian evolution. And because the chicken is both a common farm animal and a long-time favourite of developmental biologists, its genome sequence should also help scientists identify the genetic basis of many agriculturally and developmentally important traits.

11/24/04
Genetic Factors Influence Female Infidelity -Study
(Reuters) - Genetic factors influence female infidelity and the number of sexual partners women have, British scientists said on Wednesday. They studied the responses of 1,600 pairs of identical and non-identical twins in a confidential survey to look at the impact of genes on behavior. "We found that around 40 percent of the influence on the number of sexual partners and infidelity were due to genetic factors," Professor Tim Spector, director of the Twin Research Unit at St Thomas' Hospital in London, told a news conference.

11/23/04
New gene linked to smoking addiction
(AFP) - Scientists believe they have identified a gene that makes some young smokers greatly at risk to nicotine addiction, a factor that also influences the outcome of efforts to wean them off tobacco. The finger is being pointed at two variants of a gene called CYP2A6, which controls enzymes that clear up nicotine in the liver. Variants of this gene decrease levels of the enzymes, which means the nicotine is processed more slowly.

11/19/04
New Study to Compare Genetic Make-Up of Asians
(Reuters) - Just how similar are the Japanese and Indonesians, apart from being Asians? Although their physical appearences highlight a range of differences, their genetic makeup could reveal more similarities than their looks suggest, scientists said on Friday at the launch of an unprecedented study on the genetic profile of Asians.

11/02/04
The supermice that resist cancer
(BBC News) - Scientists have bred a family of "supermice" that are highly resistant to cancer.

10/20/04
Human gene number slashed
(BBC News) - Human beings have far fewer genes than originally thought, a consortium of scientists has claimed in Nature.

10/10/04
Gene switch can 'turn off cancer'
(BBC News) - Scientists have shown they can turn off a cancer-causing gene in mice, offering hope of new treatments for cancer patients.

09/28/04
Gene 'controls the first breath'
(BBC News) - US scientists have identified the gene that controls a baby's first breath.

09/26/04
Gene clue to malaria drug failure
(BBC News) - A gene in malaria parasites could explain why drugs to treat the disease fail, researchers have said.

09/21/04
GM grass pollen has long reach
(BBC News) - Pollen from a genetically modified grass has been shown to travel up to 21km away from the site where it was orginally planted. This may be the longest recorded distance travelled by any GM pollen, US researchers have claimed.

09/13/04
Researchers discover 'Jekyll and Hyde' cancer gene
(SF Chronicle) - Scientists in France and Marin County say they have discovered a third fundamental type of cancer-influencing gene, which acts as a sneaky double agent in the never-ending biological Cold War between cancer-triggering and cancer-suppressing agents. The "Jekyll and Hyde gene," they call it, because it's two-faced: It can either suppress or trigger tumors, depending on the amount of a certain protein in its cellular vicinity. The scientists reported their findings in the Sept. 2 issue of Nature.

09/07/04
Modified animals continue trend
(BBC News) - Rodents do most of the work in the lab The use of genetically modified animals in UK labs continues to grow, official statistics released on Tuesday show.

08/31/04
Single gene removes sex differences in mice brains
(New Scientist) - Significant structural differences in the brains of males and females may result from selective cell death orchestrated by just a single gene during early development, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the US examined the brains of mice lacking a gene called Bax and found that some sex differences that are obvious in normal mice were completely absent.

08/30/04
Cleft palate genetic clue found
(BBC News) - Experts have identified a genetic trait which triples the risk of a baby having a cleft palate in families where a child is already affected.

08/24/04
'Marathon' mouse keeps on running
(BBC News) - A "marathon" mouse which can run twice as far as a normal rodent has been bred by a US-South Korean team of scientists.

08/19/04
'Breathing gene' cot death link
(BBC News) - US scientists have discovered more genetic mutations that appear to be linked with cot death.

08/18/04
Embryo screening 'no health risk'
(BBC News) - Carrying out tests on embryos to screen for genetic disorders, does not harm their health, a large scale review of the procedure has found.

08/16/04
Rogue proteins give yeast an edge
(BBC News) - Prions, abnormal proteins which change normal ones into copies of themselves, are thought to cause some neurodegenerative diseases. But US scientists found that yeast uses them to develop beneficial traits that give them an evolutionary advantage. The study from the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, US, appears in the journal Nature.

08/11/04
Gene Blocker Turns Monkeys Into Workaholics - Study
(Reuters) - Procrastinating monkeys were turned into workaholics using a gene treatment to block a key brain compound, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday. Blocking cells from receiving dopamine made the monkeys work harder at a task -- and they were better at it, too, the U.S. government researchers found. National Institute of Mental Health used a new genetic technique to block the D2 gene. "The gene makes a receptor for a key brain messenger chemical, dopamine," Richmond said in a statement. Dopamine is a message carrying chemical associated with rewards, movement and a variety of other important functions.

08/10/04
Gene makes women prone to anxiety
(BBC News) - Genes could explain why women are more prone to stress-related anxiety and mood disorders. US researchers have pinpointed a variation in a gene which controls regulation of a key brain chemical linked to mood. Their work, on monkeys, suggests people with this variant may be more likely to react badly to negative experiences. The US National Institute on Alcohol Abuse study appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

08/04/04
Two Genes May Fuel Cocaine Addiction
(Health Day) - Two related genes that help control signaling between brain cells may play an important role in cocaine addiction, says a study in the Aug. 5 issue of Neuron. In research with mice, scientists found that deleting either of the two genes in the "Homer" family caused symptoms similar to those of cocaine withdrawal. The finding provides a new research target for trying to understand how both a genetic susceptibility to addiction and environmental factors cause addiction. The study found the Homer1 and Homer2 genes appear to be specific for cocaine. When the researchers tested the effects of caffeine and heroin on mice that lacked the Homer genes, the rodents' behavioral responses weren't the same as they were with cocaine.

07/29/04
Acne Bacteria Genome Decoded
(Health Day) - European scientists have sequenced the complete genome of a bacterial species involved in many cases of acne, and they're already working on potential new treatments based on that achievement. "We have identified this target, and we want to see if we can block its enzymes that degrade tissues, and also block enzymes that interact with the immune system," said Holger Brüggemann, lead author of a report on the sequencing in the July 30 issue of Science. He took part in the research at the Georg-August University in Göttingen, Germany, and now is a postdoctoral fellow at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. The bacterium, Propionibacterium acnes, is a common inhabitant of human skin. It usually lives in the glands that secrete oil into hair follicles. The activity of its enzymes on the oil is believed to produce substances that can trigger acne. Other factors are involved, however, including hormones.

07/27/04
'Frozen Ark' to save animal DNA
(BBC News) - A tissue bank that will store genetic material from thousands of endangered animals has been set up in the UK. The Frozen Ark, as it is called, will preserve animal "life codes" even after their species have become extinct. This will allow future generations of scientists to understand long lost creatures, and may also help with the conservation programmes of tomorrow. The project is supported by the Natural History Museum, the Zoological Society of London and Nottingham University.

07/26/04
Gene Variants May Make Women See Red, and Burgundy
(Reuters) - A new gene study may help explain why she sees crimson, vermilion and tomato, but it's all just red to him. In an analysis of the DNA of 236 men from around the globe, researchers found that the gene that allows people to see the color red comes in an unusually high number of variations. And that may be a boon to women's color perception in particular, study co-author Dr. Brian C. Verrelli told Reuters Health. That's because the gene, known as OPN1LW, sits on the X sex chromosome. Women have two X chromosomes, one from each parent, while men have one X and one Y chromosome. Because women have two different copies of the "red" gene, the fact that the gene can have so many variations means it may especially aid women's perception of the red-orange spectrum.

07/22/04
New Genome Test Finds Big Differences Among People
(Reuters) - A new way of comparing DNA has turned up surprising genetic differences among normal, healthy people, researchers said on Thursday. The researchers found -- by accident -- that some people are missing large chunks of DNA, while others have extra copies of stretches of DNA. Writing in the journal Science, the researchers have dubbed these differences "copy number polymorphisms." They are found in genes linked with cancer risk, with how much people eat and with reactions to drugs.

07/22/04
"Donner Party" Hearth Yields Bones; DNA Analysis Planned
(National Geographic) - In July 1846, some 81 men, women, and children known as the Donner party set out from Illinois by wagon train, bound for California with dreams of land and a new life. That October, an early snowfall on California's Sierra Nevada stopped the would-be settlers in their tracks. Four months later, rescuers returned with tales of desperate campers who cannibalized their cabin mates as snows settled in and food ran out. Now a team of archaeologists working near Truckee, California, has discovered a 158-year-old cooking hearth, evidence that may pinpoint the fate that befell this legendary group of pioneers during the winter of 1846-47.

07/20/04
Gene scientists plan aggression drug
(The Guardian) - Scientists yesterday raised the prospect of drugs being developed to treat violent behaviour. As experts gathered in London for a conference to discuss the role that genes play in aggression, Donald Pfaff of Rockefeller University said there was enough known about how genes influence behaviour in animals to consider designing human medicines to fight the rising tide of antisocial behaviour. "One question we're looking at is opportunities for pharmacogenomics," Professor Pfaff said. "The use of cleverly designed drugs to control inappropriate aggression and violence [could] bring that individual into a range where normal social controls, including a good family environment and good school environments, can work."

07/13/04
Scientist Calls Decaf Coffee Row Tempest in Teacup
(Reuters) - The Brazilian scientist who recently discovered naturally decaffeinated coffee plants from a collection of wild Ethiopian beans said on Tuesday reports that he had taken coffee plants illegally from the African country were "nonsense." The spat has underscored the potential money at stake over the rights to genetic material of the coffee plants, even though the commercial potential of the wild plants is unknown and a product could take at least five years to get to market. Decaf drinkers account for 10 percent of total coffee sales in the world, a multibillion-dollar industry. Naturally decaffeinated brews could dominate over the current chemically caffeine-reduced options in today's health-conscious market.

06/28/04
Muscle-Bound Boy Offers Hope for Humans
(Washington Post) - As soon as he was born, doctors noticed something odd about the boy: He had unusually large muscles, which bulged from his little arms and legs. Today, the 4 1/2-year-old is extraordinarily strong: Most children his age can lift about one pound with each arm -- he can hold a 6.6-pound dumbbell aloft with each outstretched hand. Otherwise, the boy appears normal, at least so far. But scientists say the child is much more than a curiosity -- he could help them develop new treatments for a host of muscle disorders, most notably muscular dystrophy, and perhaps find ways to prevent the inexorable frailty that accompanies aging. He is the first human confirmed to have a defect in a gene that scientists have suspected could lead to new approaches for building muscles in people.

06/16/04
'Fidelity gene' found in voles
(BBC News) - A single gene can turn the Don Juan of voles into an attentive home-loving husband, Nature magazine has reported. By altering the small animal's brain hormone chemistry, scientists have made a promiscuous meadow vole faithful - just like its prairie vole cousin. The researchers think this will lead to a greater understanding of how social behaviour is controlled in humans. The same hormone activity could play a role in disorders like autism where people can lack simple social skills.

06/11/04
Genome of Sudden Oak Death bug cracked
(New Scientist) - The genome of the fungal pathogen that causes Sudden Oak Death has been sequenced by US scientists. Brett Tyler, of the Virginia Bio-informatics Institute in Blacksburg, and Dan Rokhsar and colleagues at the Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek, California, revealed the 65 million-long sequence of DNA base pairs that make up Phytophthora ramorum's 15,000 genes at the JGI on Thursday. It is the first member of the Phytophthora family to be sequenced. The researchers hope that the map of P. ramorum's genetic code will pinpoint genes and their proteins that will allow them to detect, track and treat the disease.

06/8/04
Prostate cancer gene identified
(BBC News) - Scientists have identified a gene which could identify how aggressive a man's prostate cancer will be. The research, by experts at the Institute of Cancer Research Everyman Centre, should lead to a test to identify aggressive cancers. The E2F3 gene may also act as a focus for the development of drugs to treat prostate cancer, the most common to affect UK men, the researchers say. The findings will be published in the journal Oncogene. Twenty-seven thousand prostate cases are diagnosed each year and the disease kills 10,000 men a year.

05/27/04
Surprises in first map of chimp chromosome
(SF Chronicle) - An international team of scientists, seeking to track the course of human evolution and the ancient roots of genetic diseases, has completed the first highly accurate map of the genes in a single chimpanzee chromosome and compared them gene-by-gene with their human counterparts. The result, the scientists say, reveals surprising differences between the species, even though they are the closest of relatives in the primate family. The international team completed the first sequence of the genes in chimp chromosome pair No. 22, one of 24 chromosome pairs in the chimpanzee. That pair is the counterpart of chromosome 21 in the human array of 23 chromosome pairs.

05/20/04
Pooch breeds identified by genes
(BBC News) - Researchers have worked out how to identify a dog's breed just by looking at its DNA, Science magazine reports. By examining the genes from 85 breeds of dog, the scientists have also been able to establish how they are related. All the breeds fall into three "modern" categories - associated with guarding, herding and hunting - and one "ancient" group, that dates back to antiquity. This detailed knowledge will help research into the causes of inherited diseases, which also affect people.

05/17/04
Gene revolution 'could help poor'
(BBC News) - Genetically modified crops could form part of the answer to world hunger, according to a United Nations report. With the world population set to rise by two billion over the next 30 years, such crops could help meet food needs. Drought and insect-resistant crops could boost yields and incomes, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says.

05/16/04
Gene fault link to rare syndrome
(BBC News) - Scientists have discovered the gene fault which causes a rare but disabling syndrome. Cornelia de Lange Syndrome can cause impaired development, twisted bowels and missing hands and fingers. An international team of scientists including experts from Newcastle's Institute of Genetics, carried out the research. The finding, published in Nature Genetics, could lead to genetic and prenatal tests for the syndrome.

05/6/04
Tiny robot walker made from DNA
(BBC News) - Scientists have created a microscopic walking robot using only the building blocks of life: DNA. The tiny walker is only 10 nanometres long and has been described as a major step forward in nanotechnology. A New York University team created the robot using DNA legs that move along a footpath, which is also based on DNA. The legs move by detaching themselves from the footpath, moving along it and then reattaching themselves, New Scientist reports.

05/5/04
DNA Study Sheds Light on Irish Potato Famine
(National Geographic News) - In the mid-19th century, a fungus-like disease that turned potatoes into black, inedible mush led to the fatal starvation of approximately a million people in Ireland. A team of DNA sleuths now believes they know the true identity of the killer disease. The mystery began unraveling three years ago, when the researchers presented DNA evidence from samples of 150-year-old potato leaves. The scientists said the findings exonerated the previous prime suspect behind the Irish potato famine: a strain of the pathogen Phytophthora infestans known as the Ib haplotype. (The pathogen causes a plant disease known as late blight.)

04/30/04
Firm plans human DNA tree memorial
(Guardian Unlimited) - Tired of tombstones? Put off by plaques? Then a new way of commemorating the dead might be for you: an apple tree, genetically modified to carry strands of your own DNA. The idea for "transgenic tombstones" began as a student project at the Royal College of Arts, London. Now Georg Tremmel and Shiho Fukuhara have been awarded £35,000 by Nesta, the National Endowment for Science, Technology and Arts, to set up Biopresence, a company to make the trees. Mr Tremmel says the trees are far more appealing than gravestones and plaques. "It would be a whole different thing. Tombstones are dead, but these trees are living, they are a symbol of life. They could be extremely comforting for people," he said.

04/29/04
DNA computers to fight diseases
(BBC News) - Israeli scientists have developed tiny devices able to detect signs of cancer, and release drugs to treat the disease. The work is still test-tube-based but it could lead to "nano-clinics" which remain in the body, sensing illnesses and then treating them automatically. The devices are so small that roughly a trillion of them can fit into a microlitre (a millionth of a litre). The research is led by Ehud Shapiro from the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot and is published in the journal Nature.

04/12/04
Faulty gene for bowel disease found
(Globe and Mail) - Canadian researchers have isolated a gene that predisposes people to Crohn's disease, a painful disorder that strikes young people and that has sharply increased in frequency in recent years. The discovery will have an immediate impact, allowing researchers to distinguish more readily between Crohn's and colitis, both inflammatory bowel diseases. "The diagnostic benefits will be immediate," said Katherine Siminovitch, a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto. "That's important because you really want to catch these diseases in the early stages . . . then you can start a therapy that might put patients in remission and even eradicate the disease."

04/09/04
Scotts Testing Genetically Modified Grass
(AP) - GERVAIS, Ore. - In an unmarked site on the edges of this community of berry farmers, Bob Harriman puts one foot on the world's most controversial grass. It's a blanket of brilliant green — as thin as a piece of paper and as uniform as cellophane. If it sounds unnatural, that's because it is. The turf is a genetically modified version of the creeping bentgrass popular on golf course greens and fairways, and it is being tested here by Scotts Co., which hopes its creation will be resistant to a common weed-killing chemical. Scotts keeps the test site incognito because environmentalists are trying to ban the bioengineered grass — and radical groups have gone so far as to sabotage test plots elsewhere.

04/08/04
Study to probe genetics of depression
(Nature) - A massive project to probe the genetics of depression was launched this week at the Human Genome Meeting in Berlin, Germany. The multinational study aims to aid the development of the novel drugs against the condition. "Antidepressant drugs haven't changed much for the past 30 years," says the project’s leader, Bill Deakin of the University of Manchester, UK. "We have to find new molecules that are involved in depression so that new treatments can be developed." Most drugs for depression boost levels of the brain chemical serotonin, which helps nerve cells to communicate effects mood. But this treatment can take weeks to take effect, and even then works only for around half of patients.

04/06/04
Kangaroo genes could boost milk
(BBC News) - Kangaroo milk production is of special interest to some scientists because the animals make three distinct types of milk depending on their embryo's age. The research is part of the Kangaroo Genome Project, an Australian effort to sequence the marsupial's entire genome. The research was discussed on Monday at the Human Genome Meeting in Berlin.

04/01/04
Rats join genome club
(San Francisco Chronicle) - Scientists have deciphered the genetic code of the common laboratory rat, a landmark achievement in the search for the genetic roots of human disease and mammalian evolution. The lowly rat now joins one of the most elite clubs in biology, becoming only the third species of mammal, after humans and mice, to have its genome deciphered in a project that took a consortium of 220 researchers about four years to complete. Reviled for much of human history as a carrier of scourges and nightmare symbol of decay, the rat has become a scientific workhorse in modern laboratories studying such things as the genetics of behavior and the toxicity of experimental drugs.

03/30/04
Hope for gene transplants in womb
(BBC News) - Researchers at Imperial College and University College, London have already successfully implanted corrective genes in foetal mice. They now hope to use the technique on human foetuses, and say it could help cure inherited diseases such as haemophilia. The Gene Therapy Advisory Committee would have to give its approval before the research could go ahead. Researchers used a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as a vector to transfer the corrective genes into the recipient, having first removed the disease-causing elements of the virus.

03/20/04
Immune cells grown in a dish
(Nature) - Scientists have found a way to grow a bountiful supply of disease-fighting cells that might one day boost therapy for cancer and HIV. The cells, called T cells, normally patrol the body and kill infected or cancerous cells. But chemo- or radiotherapy, and the HIV virus, destroy them. Now a Canadian team have grown potentially limitless T cells in the laboratory. "We're very excited," says immunologist Juan Carlos Zúñiga-Pflücker of the University of Toronto.

03/15/04
Master Blood Cell Gene Identified
(Health Day) - A gene first identified as the cause of a rare but deadly form of leukemia turns out to play a master role in controlling the body's blood system, researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report. The discovery could lead to new ways of treating many forms of leukemia, says Dr. Stanley Korsmeyer, director of the Dana-Farber Program in Molecular Oncology and leader of the group reporting the finding in the March 16 issue of Developmental Cell. The gene is called MLL, for mixed lineage leukemia, an aggressive form of blood cancer that affects a small number of infants and some adults who have relapsed after treatment for other leukemias. "This cancer is an exaggeration of the normal role of this gene," says Korsmeyer. "It is too much of a good thing." The good thing is production of blood cells. In MLL, the gene gets stuck in the "on" position because the chromosome on which it is located suffers a break at that specific site. The result is the uncontrolled proliferation of blood cells that is leukemia.

03/12/04
Genetic Disorder Links Panic and Bladder Problems
(Reuters Health) - The seemingly unrelated conditions of panic disorder and the bladder disorder interstitial cystitis may be components of a hitherto unidentified genetic syndrome, new findings indicate. It may be that treatments for anxiety may also help people with interstitial cystitis, researchers suggest. Dr. Myrna M. Weissman of Columbia University, New York, and colleagues note in the Archives of General Psychiatry that they previously reported on a study of families with several members affected by panic disorder, which produces sudden, unexpected feelings of apprehension and dread along with palpitations and shortness of breath. That study revealed that panic disorder was associated with other disorders, particularly bladder and thyroid problems, weakness in the mitral valve of the heart, and headache.

03/8/04
FBI's DNA Database Helps ID Suspects
(AP) - The FBI (news - web sites)'s DNA database, filled with genetic samples from prison inmates nationwide, has helped local authorities identify suspects in more than 11,000 cases in what is becoming the 21st century equivalent of fingerprinting. The database, known as the Combined DNA Indexing System or CODIS, has helped solve two "cold" murder cases in Kansas, identify the two-decade old remains of a missing California child and capture a sexual predator who terrorized young boys in Houston. Just as important, police and lawyers say, it has freed prisoners wrongly convicted of crimes and helped detectives quickly eliminate wrong suspects, saving manpower chasing false leads. "This basically is the fingerprint technology of this century," said Joseph M. Polisar, the police chief of Garden Grove, Calif., and the president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. "The potential for us in the criminal justice field to solve crimes with this technology is boundless."

03/5/04
Md. Team Finds Species of Sea Microbes
(Washington Post) - A Maryland research team that helped decipher the human genome has applied its powerful DNA analyzers to the high seas, discovering in a few giant gulps of seawater at least 1,800 new species of marine microbes and more than a million genes previously unknown to science. The treasure trove of novel life-forms adds significantly to scientists' appreciation of the oceans' astonishing biodiversity. It could also deepen their understanding of key biological, chemical and climatic cycles, which are regulated in large part by ocean microbes. Moreover, many of the newfound genes inside those microbes appear capable of performing chemical reactions that no scientist has ever achieved in a laboratory. That suggests the microbes could be put to work cleaning up polluted sites, synthesizing new drugs and producing free hydrogen as an energy source.

02/24/04
Gene That Helps in Your 40s Can Hurt in Your 80s
(Reuters Health) - A genetic variation that can save your life in middle age may also reduce your chances of surviving into your hundreds, Italian researchers report. These seemingly paradoxical findings appear to stem from the gene's influence on levels of so-called "bad" cholesterol, or LDL cholesterol. The investigators found that people with a particular form of the gene had significantly lower levels of LDL cholesterol. A high level of LDL cholesterol is an established risk factor for heart disease. Previous research has shown that the gene form linked to low LDL cholesterol occurs commonly among adults, but is only rarely present in healthy, elderly adults. This pattern suggests that the low cholesterol gene can protect your heart in middle age, but may also interfere with your ability to reach a ripe old age.

02/19/04
Gene Therapy Shows Promise for Cystic Fibrosis
(Reuters Health) - Using an inhaler to deliver a specific gene to the lungs of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients is well tolerated and shows signs of effectiveness, new research indicates. Cystic fibrosis is a hereditary disease involving the lungs that is caused by mutations in a gene called CFTR, short for cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator. As reported in the medical journal Chest, Dr. Richard B. Moss at Stanford University in California and colleagues, used inhalers to deliver either a normal copy of the CFTR gene or inactive "placebo" to the lungs of 37 patients with mild CF. With this delivery method, modified viruses were used to transport the gene to the cells that line the patients' airways. Repeat treatments were given on a monthly basis.

02/18/04
Human genome data to be released
(BBC News) - The human genetic database compiled by the private company Celera Genomics is to be released to the public. Celera completed a draft of the human genome three years ago at the same time that a rival, publicly funded, group of scientists finished its own draft. Both groups announced the scientific milestone together at the White House. Experts say the two versions of the human genetic code complement each other, and form the basis for finding the genetic causes of disease.

02/16/04
Athlete cheats seek genetic boost
(BBC News) - The prospect that athletes will soon try to enhance their bodies with gene technology is raised by the results of a new study to boost muscles in rats. The scientist behind the research says his intention was to find new ways of treating muscle wasting diseases. But Lee Sweeney, from the University of Pennsylvania, says trainers are already making inquiries about his technology. "I would say half the e-mails I get now are from athletes," he told an American science conference in Washington State. "The other half is from patients with muscular dystrophy." Sweeney and colleagues injected their rats with a virus which carried a gene into muscle cells to produce a growth hormone called IGF-I.

02/13/04
Science closing in on ageing gene
(BBC News) - Experts believe they are a little nearer to tracking down a gene which may influence how long you live. Belgian researchers say it is probably passed from fathers to daughters and mothers to sons on the sex chromosome. There is some evidence that suggests a reduction over time in the length of key pieces of DNA in the human cell may contribute to the diseases of old age. The research, in the Lancet, may help uncover the gene that controls this.

02/8/04
Gene fault increases leprosy risk
(BBC News) - Although many perceive it as a "biblical disease", leprosy still affects up to a million people a year. Experts from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, found the genetic variation means a person has five times the normal risk of developing leprosy. Writing in the journal Nature, they say the finding will help develop ways to prevent and treat the disease.

02/5/04
Gene-Altered Mice Create Healthful Oils
(Washington Post) - Scientists in Boston have created a line of genetically engineered mice that make their own omega-3 fatty acids -- healthful oils, typically found in fish, that mice, humans and other mammals cannot normally make on their own. The scientists have no interest in adding mice to the menus of health food restaurants, though the meat from these gene-altered mice is now about as heart-healthy as a piece of salmon. Nor do they advocate adding the omega-3 gene to humans -- an enhancement that would endow people with the capacity to convert the unhealthful fats in their diets into healthier oils but would open a Pandora's box of ethical concerns.

01/27/04
GM sperm 'is possible in humans'
(BBC) - Japanese and US researchers managed to insert foreign DNA into zebrafish sperm cells - then successfully mature them into working sperm. Previous attempts have led to offspring with a mixed genetic identity. However, attempts to tinker with the human "germline" are considered fraught with danger by most scientists. This is because of the danger of inadvertantly introducing genetic problems which then persist from generation to generation. The UK's fertility watchdog says no-one has tried to do it here - there is likely to be strong opposition to any attempt.

01/25/04
Landmine-detecting plant developed by Danish researchers
(AFP) - Danish researchers said they have produced a plant that can help detect hidden landmines by changing its colour from green to red when its roots come in contact with explosives. Scientists at Aresa, a small biotechnology firm in Copenhagen, have worked on the genetically-modified plant for nearly three years, hoping their discovery would help reduce the number of people hurt by stepping on forgotten explosives. Some 100 million unexploded landmines are believed to be lurking in the soil of about 75 countries the world over and clearing them to cultivate the soil is difficult and dangerous work.

01/22/04
US needs to regulate genetically modified insects: report
(AFP) - There could be public health and agricultural benefits from the creation of genetically modified insects, but the practice needs to be regulated, according to a report. In its report, the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology said the United States "lacks a clear regulatory framework for reviewing environmental safety and other issues associated with GM insects." "Although it may be several years before scientists are ready to conduct a widescale release of transgenic insects, the research threatens to outpace regulatory preparedness," said Michael Rodemeyer, the research organization's executive director. "The benefits of GM insects could be significant," he said, adding that the federal governments "needs to move quickly" to regulate the science and protect the public.

01/21/04
DNA Results Could ID Columbus
(Discovery News) - The long-standing cultural dispute over Christopher Columbus' final resting place could take a new turn as further DNA tests are carried out by an Italian university. DNA technology will be applied by the University of Pavia's laboratories to fragments of bones now kept in a box in the university's library. The remains come from Santo Domingo, one of Columbus' debated burial places. "They were given by the bishop of Santo Domingo to Pavia University in 1880, as it was thought that Columbus studied here. They could be enough to conduct DNA tests," Anna Maria Campanini Stella, director of the university library, told Discovery News.

01/19/04
When a Good Gene Turns Bad
(HealthDay) - Wound-healing genes actually promote the spread of some types of cancer, says a Stanford University study in the Jan. 19 issue of Public Library of Science Biology. The Stanford scientists found some tumors activate these wound-healing genes, something that makes the tumors more likely to spread. This finding could help researchers develop new ways to treat cancer and may also help doctors determine which cancers need more aggressive treatment.

01/14/04
Gene 'helped create human brain'
(BBC) - They believe it is responsible for the expansion of an area of the brain called the cerebral cortex which controls abstract reasoning. This is much bigger in humans than their closest relatives - and gives us our extraordinary brain power. The research, by Howard Hughes Medical Institute, US, is published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics.

01/11/04
Brittle bone disease gene 'found'
(BBC) - The gene called Alox15 affects the density of important minerals in bones. Lifestyle factors, such as poor diet, can increase the risks of developing osteoporosis. However, scientists have also suspected genes are involved. This finding, published in the journal Science, could lead to new drugs to fight the condition.

01/09/04
Gene 'alarm' makes plants flower
(BBC) - The question of how plants know when it is time for them to flower has perplexed scientists for generations. But a team of British and US researchers has uncovered clues that may help to explain the conundrum and help to increase crop productivity. Details of the research are published in the scientific journal Nature.

01/07/04
US Scientists Assemble Honeybee Genome
(Reuters) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The honeybee has joined the growing collection of animals whose gene maps are available for anyone to see, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday. The sequence of the bee, known scientifically as Apis mellifera, is published on the Internet for researchers in biology and agriculture to use, the National Human Genome Research Institute reported. The sequence shows the bee genome is about one-tenth the size of the human genome, containing about 300 million DNA base pairs, or matching rungs on the ladderlike double helix that makes up DNA.

01/04/04
Gene 'raises heart attack risk'
(BBC) Researchers in the United States say they have found a link between a gene called ALOX5 and atherosclerosis. This condition, which causes the arteries to clog up, is the leading cause of heart attacks and strokes. Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers said the discovery could lead to new treatments to fight the condition.

01/01/04
Dazzling results from gene flaw
(BBC) Experts from the US and the Netherlands say that the defect may make it tougher for the eye to adjust to sudden bright light. This means that strong light flashes could be disorientating, they say in a research paper in the journal Nature. Dr Aart Kooijman from the University of Groningen said: "These patients are essentially blind for seconds." The gene is involved in the activation and deactivation of photoreceptor cells in the eye - a key mechanism which helps the pupil to adjust in response to the strength of light it encounters.

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