Genome Alberta's Official Newsletter

This news digest is published by GE³LS at Genome Alberta. Feel free to forward to your colleagues.
To view past issues of the GE³LS Digest or to subscribe to the Digest please go to:
http://genomealberta.ca/ge3ls/newsletters.aspx


In every digest, we featured stories about the promise of personalized medicine and the future of our health. From breakthroughs in cancer treatments, 'misses' in research, or grey areas for public discussion, the role of personal genomics & health was our most influential topic this year.


From 4 July 2011:
The Cancer Genome Atlas completes detailed ovarian cancer analysis
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2011/06/30/the.cancer.genome.atlas.completes.detailed.ovarian.cancer.analysis
The researchers confirmed that mutations in the tumor suppressor gene TP53, are present in more than 96 percent of these cancers. Tumor suppressor genes produce proteins that normally prevent cancer formation. When the genes mutate and those protein functions are disrupted, tumors can form.
The team also found sets of genes associated with different patient survival patterns, indentifying a set of 108 genes associated with poor survival and 85 genes associated with better survival. Overall, the five-year survival rate for ovarian cancer is 31 percent, meaning that there is an urgent need for a better understanding of and therapeutic targets for the disease.

From 1 September 2011:
Smoothing Personalized Medicine's Ragged Edge
http://www.burrillreport.com/article-smoothing_personalized_medicines_ragged_edge.html
Companion diagnostics used to identify patients who will benefit from specific targeted therapies is raising a growing ethical issue as such treatments proliferate and cost pressures on healthcare systems intensify. How should we, and who should, decide where to draw the line on precisely how responsive a patient will to be to qualify to receive a given therapy? Podcast from the Burrill Report featuring Leonard Fleck, a professor at the Center for Ethics and Humanities in the Life Sciences at Michigan State University

From 15 September 2011:
U.S. Patent Reform - What Does It Mean To Personalized Medicine?
http://www.personalizedmedicinebulletin.com/patent-reform/congress-passes-patent-reform---what-does-it-mean-to-personalized-medicine/
Yesterday, September 8, 2011, the Senate passed by a vote of 89-9 the House version of the patent reform bill H.R. 1249, also known as the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, without amendment. Consequently, after many years of discussion, debate and hand-wringing, significant patent reform is imminent. One aspect of the bill, however, in a section entitled “Study on Genetic Testing,” impacts the personalized medicine industry in particular.

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2011 was a critical year for legal decisions for the use of embryonic stem cells in research. The US  Court of Appeals confirmed the use of federal funding in research, and the European Court of Justice banned the issuing of any patents.


From 3 May 2011:
Stem cells: Court allows federal funding for embryonic stem cell research
http://facebook.genomealberta.ca/en/stories/stem-cells-court-allows-federal-funding-for-embryonic-stem-cell-research.html
Taxpayer dollars can fund research involving embryonic stem cells, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled on Friday.
Proponents of stem cell research applauded the decision, saying it would allow important research to move forward. But they also braced for future battles. "The fight for embryonic stem cell research in the United States is not over," said Dr. Alan Trounson, president of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, which uses state money to fund stem cell research, in a statement.

From 2 November 2011:
Patent Ruling Sets Back EU Stem-Cell Scientists
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204346104576639010759884794.html
Europe's top court ruled Tuesday that any research involving the destruction of human embryos can't be patented, a decision that deals a blow to scientists on the continent but gives an edge to those in the U.S. and other countries.

From 1 December 2011:
Not all doom and gloom: Major Investment in UK Stem Cell Therapy Initiative
http://facebook.genomealberta.ca/en/stories/not-all-doom-and-gloom-major-investment-in-uk-stem-cell-therapy-initiative.html
While many researchers will feel disheartened by last month’s ruling in the Court of Justice of the European Union that prohibits scientific research patents on human embryonic stem cell products, it seems some positive news is emerging from Europe as well. Specifically, the United Kingdom has recently promised a huge investment in the development of a major cell therapy centre


A new prenatal genetic test for Down Syndrome announced in the fall caused quite a stir; from the ethics of Down Syndrome, to the role of early prenatal diagnosis, this discovery prompted even more discussion about genetic testing in pregnancy than ever before. 


From 16 March 2011:
Ethics of prenatal genetic tests
http://blog.bioethics.gov/2011/02/28/ethics-of-prenatal-genetic-tests/
What could be an explosive ethical issue in genetic testing in the years ahead? One possibility: prenatal genetic testing.
Hank Greely, the Deane F. and Kate Edelman Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, told the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues today that just 1 to 2 percent of pregnancies now involve prenatal genetic testing. He said that could explode to more than 50 percent in coming years because of an emerging DNA test for genetic abnormalities taken only from a mother’s blood after the fifth week of pregnancy.

From 2 November 2011:
Fetal Gene Screening Comes to Market
http://facebook.genomealberta.ca/en/stories/fetal-gene-screening-comes-to-market.html
Until last week, scrutinizing a fetus's DNA for indications of genetic abnormalities meant tapping into the mother's womb with a needle. Now there's a test that can do it using a small sample of the mother's blood.

From 16 November 2011:
Genetic Testing for Down Syndrome: What It Can and Cannot Tell You
http://www.biopoliticaltimes.org/article.php?id=5931
While some fear Sequenom’s test will lead to social pressure on women to abort babies with Down syndrome, especially because the woman can find out so early in the pregnancy, others are more hopeful, claiming that this knowledge will help parents expecting a child with Down syndrome to prepare and educate themselves before the baby is born. At worst, the test can serve to eliminate choice, as people too often assume a child with Down syndrome is a mistake to be corrected.

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Direct-to-Consumer genetic testing has been around for some time now, but because of its ongoing influence on health care, discrimination laws and ethics of family genomics, we've included it on our list of influential topics this year.


From 16 March 2011:
The End for Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing?
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/26499/?p1=Blogs
In a blow to both the consumer genomics industry and advocates of patient-centered healthcare, an advisory panel for the Food and Drug Administration has recommended that some direct-to-consumer genetic tests--kits sold over the internet that give consumers information about their genetic risk for common diseases as well as other genetic information--no longer be freely available to consumers. According to a report from Medpage today, the panel recommended that "Certain types of genetic tests that are available for at-home use without a prescription should not be used without the involvement of a physician or genetic specialist."

From 3 May, 2011:
Case Studies Illustrate the Dilemmas of Genetic Testing
http://facebook.genomealberta.ca/en/stories/case-studies-illustrate-the-dilemmas-of-genetic-testing.html
A recent AAAS seminar explored the potential consequences of direct-to-consumer genetic testing—and the appropriate role of government regulation—through the lens of two individuals who went through genetic testing. Customized nutritional products, diet supplements and vitamins are all sold by direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies, Donna Messner, Gordon Cain Fellow at the Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) said. There are also tests to determine a dog’s breed, a child’s paternity, and whether a child is likely to perform well in team or individual speed, endurance or strength sports.

From 15 September 2011:
California Law Would Extend Genetic Non-Discrimination Protections
http://facebook.genomealberta.ca/en/stories/california-law-would-extend-genetic-non-discrimination-protections.html
A new California law, awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature, would apply California’s broad anti-discriminatory protections to genetic information. Authored by California State Senator Alex Padilla (D – Pacoima) the law, SB 559, extends the protections in the federal Genetic Information and Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). GINA currently prohibits the use of genetic information to discriminate against people in employment and insurance.

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Often lost in the rush of news about genomics in health, the genomics of our food is a relatively quiet topic, but no less important. The influence of legislation on international trade relationships, the future & security of farming, food in the developing world and the role of food to inform public discourse on scientific developments suggests our 5th influential topic of 2011.


From 16 June 2011:
Tests Reveal Mislabeling of Fish
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/science/earth/27fish.html?_r=1
Scientists aiming their gene sequencers at commercial seafood are discovering rampant labeling fraud in supermarket coolers and restaurant tables: cheap fish is often substituted for expensive fillets, and overfished species are passed off as fish whose numbers are plentiful.

From 16 November 2011:
Pigeon pea genome sequence could boost yields
http://www.environmental-expert.com/news/pigeon-pea-genome-sequence-could-boost-yields-266868
More than a billion people could soon benefit from improved yields of the important drought-resistant crop pigeon pea now that its genome has been sequenced by a global partnership. The sequence, published online in Nature Biotechnology last week (6 November), should cut the time it takes to develop higher-yielding pigeon pea varieties from the 6–10 years required for traditional breeding techniques to three years with molecular techniques.

From 1 December 2011:
Trade Clashes Seen Over Genetically Modified Organisms
http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=201111300755dowjonesdjonline000404&title=trade-clashes-seen-over-genetically-modified-organisms
Backers of transgenic and cloning technology in major farming countries such as Argentina are likely to face trade friction with the European Union in the coming years as Europeans continue to drag their feet in approving new strains.

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There were so many important GE³LS topic for discussion this year, that we couldn't get them all on our list...from induced pluripotent stem cells, the rise & regulation of stem cell tourism, the many projects launched this year to expand the diversity of genomic study subjects, to the 10-year anniversary of the Human Genome Project. Let us know what you think...what were your top GE³LS stories of 2011?