This year, 2009 is a year that marks many significant anniversaries, birthdays and celebrations. Perhaps every year has some significance and it is just that this one is standing out for me because my interests in science are all in conjunction with the events marked this year. Stay with me now and I will connect it all to the current research in Genomics.

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the adventures of David Thompson. The event is being celebrated all over Western Canada and in the northwest of the U.S. as well. I was recently at the opening of the David Thompson exhibits at the Canmore Museum and Geoscience Centre. Throughout his career, Thompson explored almost 4 million square kilometres of the Western portion of North America. He has been labelled by some as “the greatest geographer who ever lived” Among his many accomplishments, he was the first European to navigate the entire length of the Columbia River. He also was responsible for surveying the 49th parallel after that was determined to be the border between the United States and what was to become Canada. A great deal of the area surveyed by David Thompson is now the area of great interest because of the outbreak of the Pine Beetle. Genome Alberta is partnered with Genome BC working through the Tria Project.

2009 also marks the 100th year since the discovery by Charles Doolittle Walcott of the Burgess Shale deposits. These deposits are significant because they were among the first significant fossils of soft bodied organisms ever found. Walcott made his discovery in 2009 and returned to study this area above Field BC every year for 15 years. Additional studies in the area have revealed that members of all the living animal phyla today were represented in those fossils. What this means in terms of evolution is that 505 million years ago the mutations setting out the body forms of organisms had already occurred. The Burgess Shale Foundation partnering with other organisations such as the Canmore Museum and Geoscience Centre will be having an intense summer of celebration which will include exhibits, guided hikes and a lecture series from some of the top scientists in the field. As I understand it, the details of these will be revealed shortly.

This year is also a very significant year in that it is marks the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary since the publication of his book on “The Origin of Species”. I have been enjoying the series of articles in National Geographic Magazine celebrating Darwin’s contribution. The February 2009 issue especially caught my eye because it ties it all together with genetics and genomics. There is a very significant two page display that is an illustrated flow chart showing how the study of evolution and genetics come together.

It didn’t take me long after I started reading the article on “Modern Darwins” to scan back to see who the author was. It did not surprise me to see that one of my favourite ‘genetic’ writers Matt Ridley was responsible for this brilliant article. Ten years ago, Matt wrote the very significant book, “Genome” which was a look at the genetics of humans as the Human Genome Project was about mid way through. He has also written a book called “The Agile Gene” which I will review in a near future blog.

In my presentations to teachers at conferences and conventions over the past 3 years, I have described how originally scientists expected to find up to 100,000 genes required to make the complexity of the human being. It seemed a surprise, when the human genome project was completed and only about 21,000 genes were found to be necessary. Matt Ridley in the National Geographic article points out new structural genes were not required for much of evolutionary change, only slight changes in the timing and amount of genetic expression which arises from SNP’s in the regulatory genes. As Matt says, “bodies are not assembled, like machines in factories; they grow and develop” and thus evolution is about changing the process rather than the end product.

This year, 2009 celebrates significant findings in the past from geography, palaeontology, evolution and genetics. It also promises many new discoveries in the future. I will keep you posted!