In early January, Dr. Joerg Bohlmann at UBC announced the discovery of genetic secrets that enable pine and spruce trees to fight off pests and disease, and the uncovering of critical new information about forests' natural defense systems. Bohlmann’s study examines the molecular biochemistry of conifers interacting with genomes of bark beetles and bark beetle-associated fungal pathogens. Dr. Bohlmann shared some of his information with us and we included it in the Pine Beetle Inquiry project. A separate blog on the Genome Alberta site by my colleague Matt Bryman shares ongoing developments related to the Pine Beetle and is now called the Tria Project.

My other colleague, Mike Spear blogs his personal experience with genetic analysis through 23andMe and deCODE. He has also made the results available for educators for analysis and class discussions.

In the past year, I blogged a variety of topics which I believe will be of value to science educators for class discussions. A complete science education looks at what we call science, technology and societal issues. In the last few days of 2008, what has become perhaps the hottest issue on the genomics blogosphere is a perfect focus for all three curricular emphases. I’m speaking of amateurs doing genetic engineering at home. Associated Press Writer Marcus Wohlsen on Dec 25 reported how “using homemade lab equipment and the wealth of scientific knowledge available online” it is possible to do the kind of genomics experiments in a kitchen that has long been an expensive area of research conducted by research scientists in university and corporate laboratories. Perhaps this should not be too surprising. There has been support for amateur scientists including chemists (chemistry sets), astronomers (telescopes), geologists (rocks and gems) and others. High school biology students in Adanced Placement Biology have been doing genetic engineering since the early 1990’s with only the equipment available in a school laboratory. While it is probably not the motivation for these home experiments, the current X Prize is aimed at cheaply sequencing DNA. At a time when home schooling is on the rise, it is no wonder that one’s kitchen may be better equipped than a public school laboratory. And now there are support groups for home science like DIYbio, an organization aiming to make biology a worthwhile pursuit for citizen scientists and amateur biologists wishing to do biology outside of traditional professional settings. I saw one post from a biotech patent attorney saying that he would be “be happy to answer questions about how to protect and possibly patent new ideas”.

There are definitely societal issues related to doing this type of work. As the science of genomics advances and areas of potential application become increasingly apparent, it is essential that we also undertake studies of the impact of this work on our environment, our society and our economy, so that risks may be minimized and benefits enhanced in a sound regulatory climate that has the confidence and understanding of Albertans. This significant work is done by the Genomics Ethical, Economic, Environmental and Legal Studies committee (GE³LS). YSF and Canada Wide Science Fairs also have strict rules for students doing projects in biotech and working with recombinant DNA requiring expert supervision. The expert is guided by committees like GE³LS. The amateurs are not constrained by any of these societal rules. Critics of the movement worry that they could unleash an environmental or medical disaster. This obviously is an area rich for class discussion regarding the science, and the societal issues.


Another topic that I found fascinating this year is the claim that a woolly mammoth could be regenerated for as little as $10 million. Also related to this story, there has been discussion surrounding the possible regeneration of Neanderthals, as their genome is close to being sequenced. Interesting discussion and societal issues are involved in this research as well.

I also blogged on the use of DNA markers to determine the peopling of the planet. I find this to be a very interesting topic. It is an area where biochemistry and archaeology act together. This is a topic that I am sure I will revisit in the future. I will continue to present topics of interest to teachers and students in the field of Genomics. If you or your classes have any areas which you would like me to cover, please feel free to contact me at

gward@genomealberta.ca