Genome Alberta's Official Newsletter

GE3LS Digest - October 19, 2009

Stem cell hype risks "backlash" – October 8, 2009
http://www.cmaj.ca/earlyreleases/8oct09_stem_cell.shtml
Hype about stem cell research being a "driver of economic growth" has inflated expectations and could lead to a backlash, law professor Timothy Caulfield told the 2009 National Health Law Conference in Montreal, Quebec, on Oct. 3. To protect against this, the message should be moderated and stem cell research should be subject to "good independent governance," argued Caulfield, director of the University of Alberta Health Law Institute in Edmonton. Economics is increasingly woven into the research infrastructure because of the "overall emerging idea" that research is about economic growth, not about investigation and discovery, said Caulfield. Stem cell research is a key example of this trend, and this has "put a lot of pressure on researchers." Around the world, jurisdictions are producing documents to promote potential economic spinoffs and setting "specific metrics than can be measured," he told an audience of about 200, which consisted mostly of legal professionals. For example, in the United States, an economic impact document predicts this research will create 230 000 jobs and US$88 billion in economic activity in Texas.

Stem cell pioneers among Nobel Prize candidates – October 4, 2009
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2009/10/04/stem_cell_pioneers_among_nobel_prize_candidates/
Two Canadian scientists whose discovery of stem cells has paved the way for controversial research could be candidates for the 2009 Nobel Prize in medicine, the winners of which will be announced Monday. Ernest McCulloch and James Till won the prestigious Lasker Award in 2005 and experts say they could also be among the front-runners for a Nobel for their early 1970's identification of the regenerative cells. Many winners of the Lasker Award -- often dubbed "America's Nobel" -- go on to win Nobel Prizes. Given their special abilities, stem cells offer the possibility to replace damaged cells, tissues and maybe organs to treat diseases such as Alzheimer's, heart disease, diabetes, or rheumatoid arthritis. Growing stem cells from human eggs has long been a controversial issue, but in a recent breakthrough scientists have managed to avoid the ethical quandaries by making human stem cells from ordinary skin cells.

Doctoral Thesis Fellowships and Postdoctoral Fellowships: Call For Applications
http://valgen.ca/
A group of Canadian scholars has created Value Addition Through Genomics and GE³LS (VALGEN), a Genome Canada project managed by Genome Prairie. This project responds to the deep governance challenges and opportunities of applied genomics for bioproducts and crops through research and knowledge mobilization on the core issues of intellectual property management, regulation and governance and democratic engagement.

Up to six doctoral thesis fellowships and three postdoctoral fellowships will be awarded in the three major research areas of VALGEN:
(1) intellectual property management,
(2) regulation and governance, and
(3) democratic engagement.
Fellowships will be located in one or more of the following institutions: University of Saskatchewan, University of Ottawa, University of British Columbia, University of Regina, McGill University, University of Calgary, Laval University, the University of Western Ontario, or other universities in the VALGEN network.

For More Information and to Apply:

An application consisting of a detailed cover letter and C.V. must be submitted by December 1, 2009.

Submit applications to: Kari Doerksen, University of Saskatchewan, Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, 101 Diefenbaker Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5B8 or to kdoerksen@genomeprairie.ca.

For more information please consult www.genomecanada.ca and www.valgen.ca

INTERNATIONAL

Electronic records create challenges: DNA – October 3, 2009
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26151655-23289,00.html
A pair of Belgian sleuths has been travelling the world, scooping up cigarette butts, serviettes and other discarded items containing traces of DNA, supposedly seeking to identify living relatives of Adolf Hitler. Thus far, they claim to have discovered 39 genetic relatives in Austria and the US. Journalists from some of Britain's most notorious tabloids are said to be desperate to secure a DNA sample from Prince Harry, to determine whether Prince Charles is really hisfather. In the US, a railway company got into legal strife for misleading its employees about the free health checks it conducted. In fact, the company was collecting DNA samples and, in an effort to reduce sick leave and workers compensation premiums, was secretly testing those employees to see if they had a genetic predisposition to repetitive strain injury. The remarkable advances in genetic science and technology enabling such questionable activities also hold great benefits in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of serious illnesses.
However, these rapid advances also challenge our capacity to regulate research and clinical practice in the public interest. In particular, we must ensure that we carefully protect human dignity as well as health.

GMC issues new guidance on genetic disease confidentiality – October 5, 2009
http://www.bionews.org.uk/page_49339.asp?iruid=4388
New guidelines issued by the UK General Medical Council (GMC) will allow doctors to disclose genetic information to relatives - even when patients object, if there are compelling medical reasons for doing so. The guidance, which comes into effect on 12 October, acknowledges that confidentiality is not always absolute; disclosing information about a genetic link to a disease may protect another individual from serious harm. For example, if a patient is diagnosed with a hereditary form of cancer, a doctor will now be able to inform relatives about the potential risk the genetic link could carry. Awareness of such a genetic risk could prompt investigation for the genetic mutation responsible and regular screening, thereby improving the chance of early detection and long-term prognosis.

Intellectual property vital for agricultural innovation – October 5, 2009
http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-environment/agri-biotech/opinions/intellectual-property-vital-for-agricultural-innovation.html
Protecting intellectual property is essential to foster agricultural innovation, says Javier Fernandez of CropLife Latin America. With a growing population set to exceed nine billion by 2050 and limited resources, food production will need to double in the next 40 years to ensure food security. Technological innovations in agriculture, including novel agrochemical technologies, could prove vital in the effort to sustainably grow enough food, feed and fibre, says Fernandez. Such products are rigorously regulated and developing new ones requires substantial investment — demonstrating product safety and efficacy normally takes plant science companies more than nine years, at a cost of roughly US$200 million.

I.B.M. Joins Pursuit of $1,000 Personal Genome – October 5, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/science/06dna.html
One of the oldest names in computing is joining the race to sequence the genome for $1,000. On Tuesday, I.B.M. plans to give technical details of its effort to reach and surpass that goal, ultimately bringing the cost to as low as $100, making a personal genome cheaper than a ticket to a Broadway play.
The project places I.B.M. squarely in the middle of an international race to drive down the cost of gene sequencing to help move toward an era of personalized medicine. The hope is that tailored genomic medicine would offer significant improvements in diagnosis and treatment.

Nobel Bioethics – October 6, 2009
http://www.scienceprogress.org/2009/10/nobel-bioethics/#more-4577
Two of the Nobel Prize winners announced yesterday for Medicine or Physiology have something in common besides their groundbreaking work on how cells copy chromosomes. Elizabeth H. Blackburn and Carol W. Greider both served on presidential bioethics commissions. Blackburn, of the University of California, San Francisco, was a member of the George W. Bush President’s Council on Bioethics. Greider, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, served on Bill Clinton’s National Bioethics Advisory Commission. They shared this year’s Nobel equally with Jack W. Szostak of Massachusetts General Hospital for their discovery of “how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase.” As members of bioethics commissions, both Blackburn and Greider held progressive views on human embryonic stem cell research, and in Blackburn’s case those views had consequences.

New opinions on DTC genetic testing – October 8, 2009
http://www.phgfoundation.org/news/4867/
The brave new world of consumer genomics has attracted enormous interest both in the popular press and amongst the scientific and medical establishment. Opinions vary widely about the validity and utility of these tests, and the extent to which such services should be regulated (see previous news). The internationally renowned journal Nature has now entered the foray with an editorial [Nature (2009) 461: 697-8] and an opinion piece [Ng PC et al. Nature (2009) 461:724-6] about direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing companies. The editorial criticises the "Framework of Principles for direct-to-consumer genetic testing services” developed by the Human Genetics Commission (HGC), which is currently in draft form and open for public consultation (see previous news). It states that “the value of the tests remains debatable, which is why the industry needs a strong set of quality standards and codes of conduct to protect both its consumers and its own credibility”. Whilst this is unquestionably true, the level of regulation required to achieve appropriate standards which are in-line with other health-related tests available to the public remains contentious. Unlike the HGC, which has taken a fairly liberal and pragmatic position in the formulation of its Principles, Nature suggests that ultimately government regulators may need to be involved in order to adequately protect consumers.

Canadian researchers decode breast cancer tumour DNA – October 10, 2009
http://news.sympatico.ctv.ca/Home/ContentPosting?newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20091007%2fbreast_cancer_091007&feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V3&show=False&number=0&showbyline=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=True
Canadian scientists have become the first in the world to decode the DNA of breast cancer cells, and have discovered, to their surprise, that the gene mutations in those tumours shift as the disease spreads.
The finding brings researchers unprecedented information about how breast cancer progresses and shows that the disease is a moving target that often changes the way it operates. "I never thought I would see it in my lifetime," co-principal investigator Dr. Samuel Aparicio, head of the agency's breast cancer research program, said of the discovery. The research is the cover story in this week's issue of the prestigious journal Nature. Researchers with the B.C. Cancer Agency say they made their discovery after decoding the entire genome of a patient's metastatic breast cancer and finding all the genome's mutations.

Online genetic profile tests not accurate, says expert – October 10, 2009
http://news.sympatico.ctv.ca/abc/home/contentposting.aspx?isfa=1&feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V3&showbyline=True&date=true&newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20091008%2fgene_testing_091008
The rapidly expanding area of genetic testing has spawned some at-home testing kits, but at least one expert in the field writes in the journal Nature that the products promise more than they deliver. Gene expert Craig Venter, who has been a key figure in the effort to sequence the human genome, conducted an experiment to test products from two genetic testing companies: Navigenics Inc., and 23andMe Inc. Both companies sell testing kits online (US $399 for 23andMe, $999 for Navigenics). Both claim their tests provide an accurate picture of a person's future risk for diseases that are often inherited, such as breast cancer, celiac disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. Customers fill the provided vials with saliva, and within a few weeks, their test results can be accessed over the Web.

Genetic advances force scientists to consider ethical and legal frontiers – October 12, 2009
http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=141967
Technological advances are allowing geneticists to peer into your personal genetic identity with the prospect of giving insight into everything from maladies to heritage. But this gift has come with the baggage of ethical and legal questions never considered before. Heading toward a future of deciphering individual human genetic composition, means recognizing that this may be less like unpacking the gift of life and more like opening a Pandora’s box. Scientists discussed a variety of ethical issues raised by genetic screening at a recent conference hosted by Northwestern University's Center for Genetic Medicine at Prentice Women's Hospital.

Considering genetic testing for breast cancer? – October 14, 2009
http://www.meridianstar.com/local/local_story_288001201.html
After undergoing genetic testing for breast cancer you've learned that you carry the genetic mutation associated with increased risk of the disease. Now what? Should you increase your screenings for breast cancer? Take medication to reduce your risk of cancer? Or, undergo preventive surgery (mastectomy)?
These were some of the questions posed during the recent Lunch and Learn – "Genetics and Breast Cancer: What You Need to Know; What To Do With What You Know." The session – one of several scheduled throughout October in observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month – was held in the Anderson Regional Medical Center Auditorium.

In Contentious Meeting, SACGHS Tackles Gene-Association Patentability, Impact of Exclusive Licenses – October 14, 2009
http://www.genomeweb.com//node/925784?emc=el&m=520211&l=1&v=42c8152690
A high-profile government advisory committee was minutes away last week from formally recommending that HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius support statutory changes limiting the practice of patenting claims on genes — but at the very end of a one-and-a-half-day meeting on gene patenting, the HHS Secretary's Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health, and Society decided to hold off on voting on the group's recommendations until the opinions of dissenting members were incorporated into the full report. The SACGHS task force on gene patents and licensing practices last week recommended the HHS Secretary support and work with the Secretary of Commerce to promote statutory changes that would exempt from infringement liability anyone developing or selling a test based on patent claims on genes for patient care or for research.