Genome Alberta's Official Newsletter
Genome Alberta Newsletter GeneSnips - August 1, 2008
Volume 1 Issue 10
A Glimpse into the World of Genome Alberta
- August 1, 2008 -
In this Issue:
Genome Alberta News
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WED Funding Update
In the last issue of Gene Snips we let you know about the $ 800,000 in funding we received from Western Economic Diversification for the creation of several new Pan Western Genomics networks. We’re pleased to let you know that Ying Gravel will be overseeing the Genome Alberta portion of the networks. Ying is our Programs Manager so it made sense that she add this project to her portfolio and we’re looking forward to the development of the networks over the next few years. In conjunction with Genome Prairie and Genome British Columbia we have designed a brochure and banner for the project that will debut at ABIC in Ireland (http://www.abic.ca/abic2008/index.html) . The theme for this year’s conference is Agricultural Biotechnology for a Competitive and Sustainable Future and our presence there in August will be a good fit for the themes of our WED funded initiative. Representatives from the three Genome Centres will be at ABIC and our own David Bailey is one of the guest speakers.
Genome Alberta Admin Assistant Vacancy
Our Admin Assistant Aleishia is ready to take her maternity leave so we're looking for someone to join us for a year. Responsibilities include reception duties and providing efficient administrative support to all management staff. Extensive knowledge and experience with MS office, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook are requited. Good communication and organization skills along with the ability to multi-task are also important in the role. This position is for a one-year term. Competitive salary and benefits are offered, not to mention a great work environment. If you or someone you know is interested, resumes can be sent by e-mail to jhendrickson@genomealberta.ca or fax your resume to 403-503-5232 .
Genomics in the 21st Century
Our Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Gijs van Rooijen will be in Red Deer on August 6th as part of the Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery’s series Café Genome. His talk on Genomics in the 21st Century runs from 6:30 – 9:00 and there will be lots of time for questions and discussion. Refreshment will be served and the folks putting on the evening always have some good snacks on hand. The Red Deer Museum is located at 4525 – 47a Avenue in Red Deer. You can mark August 20th on your calendar as well to see Dr. Janice Cooke who will be talking about Mountain Pine Beetle Genomics.
Mountain Pine Beetle Project
The project has a new name and a new look. The project actually looks at the genomics relationship between the beetle, the tree, and the fungus so it wasn’t quite accurate to simply label it the Mountain Pine Beetle Project. After all ,we like to be inclusive. The team knocked around a few ideas and they are now the Tria Project – Tria being Latin for 3. They also have come up with a new logo. You can go to http://genomealberta.ca/research/new_initiatives/pine_beetle/ and find links to a new .pdf poster, the Mountain Pine Beetle blog, and to some pictures from the project.
ResearchGATE
There is a new online collaboration and social media tool available that seems to be drawing interest from around the world. The science community has been slow in adopting the ‘Web 2.0’ tools but this site bills itself as part of the ‘Science 2.0 community’. ResearchGATE is free of charge and is specifically designed for researchers. It is an opportunity to use a web-based environment to present yourself and your research projects, broaden your science network internationally, or simply exchange know-how and expertise. Like many Web 2.0 sites it has a variety of specific interest groups and ResearchGATE covers the range from Bioinformatics to Genetic Epidemiology to Translational Research. It is a small community right now but you might want to check it out at www.researchgate.com
GE3LS Digest
This is a sample from the GE3LS Digest put out on a regular basis by Genome Alberta’s GE3LS team. If you’d like to receive the full digest, email rhyde-lay@genomealberta.ca
SACGHS To Draft Report on Genetics Education By Next Summer; Leavitt Calls DTC Testing Debate a 'Good Struggle' – July 10, 2008http://www.genomeweb.com/issues/news/148091-1.html
The HHS Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health and Society plans to release a draft report covering its recommendations on genetics education by next summer, a SACGHS official said this week. During a session on personalized genomics during a SACGHS meeting here, SACGHS member Barbara Burns-McGrath said that the committee expects to prepare a draft report that will cover its priorities and recommendations concerning genetics education by the summer of 2009, and a final report by 2010. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt, who unexpectedly dropped in on the meeting on Tuesday, told attendees that consumer genomics “is an area of particular interest to me.” Leavitt offered encouragement to meeting attendees who had gathered to hash out a range of complex issues, such as the scientific validity of these tests and the regulatory status of the field. “We’re struggling with so many different issues and trying to find a balance, and [trying to find] that place between fostering innovation and at the same time giving people that sense of confidence” that products and services are safe, Leavitt told the group.
Should Personal Genomics Be Regulated? – July 8, 2008
http://radar.oreilly.com/2008/07/should-personal-genomics-be-regulated.html
I read recently about the cease and desist letters sent to 23andme and other personal genomics companies selling tests directly to consumers. 23andme has responded, saying that they agree with the ultimate need for regulation, but that harnessing the consumer internet for personal genomics is a really valuable scientific tool. I have to say I find myself doubtful about the urgency of this regulatory move. It smacks more of the hand of the AMA, an entrenched industry trying to make sure that the new tools of genetic testing remain under the thumb of doctors, than of true consumer protection. You have only to walk into Whole Foods to encounter a multi-billion dollar industry of supplements making all kinds of dubious health claims, which is completely unregulated. Why pick on personalized medicine, which has way more substance, and at least so far, way more care in the types of claims it makes?
The Luxurious Growth – July 12, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/opinion/15brooks.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
We all know the story of Dr. Frankenstein, the scientist so caught up in his own research that he arrogantly tried to create new life and a new man. Today, if you look at people who study how genetics shape human behavior, you find a collection of anti Frankensteins. As the research moves along, the scientists grow more modest about what we are close to knowing and achieving. It wasn’t long ago that headlines were blaring about the discovery of an aggression gene, a happiness gene or a depression gene. The implication was obvious: We’re beginning to understand the wellsprings of human behavior, and it won’t be long before we can begin to intervene to enhance or transform human life. Few talk that way now. There seems to be a general feeling, as a Hastings Center working group put it, that “behavioral genetics will never explain as much of human behavior as was once promised.
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Genome Alberta in Pictures
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