Genome Alberta's Official Newsletter
Genome Alberta Newsletter GeneSnips - January 5, 2009
Genome Alberta News
Opportunities for Swine Genomics Research in Canada
A series of two workshops will be held in January 2009 to help the Canadian swine industry benefit from opportunities that are developing in genomics. One particularly exciting development is the very recent release of a 60,000 SNP panel for swine. This high density genetic marker panel offers tremendous new opportunities for the swine industry. These workshops will be an opportunity for you to help establish how Canada can contribute to this field of research and to help identify what needs to be done to deliver on the promise. Please join us at either or both of these workshops.
The first workshop will be at the Plant and Animal Genome Conference (PAG) in San Diego on Monday January 12, 2009 from 13h00 to 17h00 (www.intl-pag.org). The focus for this workshop is to be up to date on the latest international swine genetics and genomics research, and to have a discussion in the context of what could and should be done in Canada. Speakers from Canada, the US and Europe have been invited to give presentations and participate in the discussions. The workshop will follow other PAG meetings including an International Swine Workshop on Saturday morning, the Swine Genome Sequencing Consortium Workshop on Sunday morning, and an Animal Genome Workshop on Sunday afternoon.
The second workshop will be prior to the Banff Pork Seminar (www.banffpork.ca) in Banff, Alberta on Tuesday January 20, 2009 from 13h00 to 17h00 following a complementary lunch at noon. The focus for this workshop will be to look at what swine genomics research could be done collectively for the benefit of the broader industry in Canada. Speakers from the US have been invited who have been involved in applied genomics research with the US industry, along with Canadian researchers to provide direction on how to develop practical genomics applications, and what phenotypic information could be collected to capture these opportunities. This workshop will be followed by a meeting the next day on the afternoon of Wednesday January 21 for those interested in being involved with the next steps. It is anticipated that not only breeding stock companies with active research and development programs in Canada will be directly involved, but involvement and coordination with the broader industry will be required.
Please contact Brian Sullivan or David Bailey if you would like to attend either or both of these workshops, or need more information. An RSVP is appreciated so that we can plan appropriately for the workshops and provide you with more details.
On behalf of the Canadian Swine Genomics Steering Committee,
Brian Sullivan, General Manager
Canadian Centre for Swine Improvement
Email: brian@ccsi.ca
David Bailey, President & CEO
Genome Alberta
Email: dbailey@genomealberta.ca
Genome Canada Director of International Genomics
Dr. Karen Kennedy, Genome Canada’s Director of International Genomics Program, has announced her resignation as of January 16, 2009. She will be taking up a new position as Head of Strategic Relations at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, UK.
In her two and one-half year tenure at Genome Canada, Dr. Kennedy made a significant contribution to the development and implementation of Genome Canada’s strategy for international research activities. She has earned the respect of her Canadian and international colleagues through her involvement in established multi-national consortia (International Knockout Mouse Consortium, Public Population Project in Genomics, International Regulome Consortium), as well as her participation in the development of new consortia (International Cancer Genome Consortium, International Barcode of Life Project) and the establishment of the International Funders Forum. Dr. Kennedy’s efforts on behalf of Genome Canada have helped nurture Canadian leadership and competitiveness in these initiatives.
With Karen’s departure, Genome Canada will be looking for a new Director of International Genomics Program. If you know of anyone who would be interested in an exciting new career opportunity please contact Martin Godbout at 514-571-2940 or mgodbout@hodran.com or Carol Anne Esnard, Genome Canada’s Chief Administrative Officer, 613-751-4460 or cesnard@genomecanada.ca
Innovation Alberta Features
Genome Alberta was featured recently as part of the Innovation Alberta series on CKUA and you can still listen to them if you missed their original broadcast dates.
Genome Alberta: Moose and Cows http://www.
innovationanthology.com/ programs.php?id=208
Genome Alberta: Microbes and Oil http://www.
innovationanthology.com/ programs.php?id=209
Genome Alberta http://www.
innovationanthology.com/ programs.php?id=207
Other genetics related items featured recently on Innovation Alberta that are also worth listening to:
Cheap DNA Tests for Health Consumers http://www.
innovationanthology.com/ programs.php?id=206
Genetic Variations Influence Autism Spectrum Disorder http://www.
innovationanthology.com/ programs.php?id=205
Alberta 1000 Plants Initiative (a Genome Alberta managed project ) http://www.
innovationanthology.com/ programs.php?id=199
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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
Crackdown urged on 'rogue' stem cell clinics – Decemeber 3, 2008
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id= 1026942
Stem cell clinics promising costly cures for everything from Parkinson's disease to spinal cord injury grossly exaggerate the cells' benefits and gravely underestimate the potential risks, warn researchers. The clinics, most of them in China, India and Latin America, solicit customers over the Internet and typically charge about $21,500 for treatments that infuse "stem cells" into the blood, brain or spine. But there is scant evidence the therapies work, Timothy Caulfield and his colleagues at the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta note in a report released Wednesday, along with a call for a crackdown on "rogue" stem cell operations. The clinic websites make bold claims about cures and feature testimonials from satisfied customers. But there's a "big over-estimation of benefit and a huge down-play of risk," says Caulfield. "The available peer-reviewed research simply does not support the claims." His team could find no legitimate medical studies to support using stem cell therapy to treat Parkinson's or Alzheimer's diseases. The same was true for treatments offered for dozens of different ailments and disorders by 19 clinic websites assessed, the team reports in the December issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, which also lays out new guidelines to try to curb use of the unproven treatments.White Men Can't Jump? Race Genes and Sports – December 5, 2008
http://www.slate.com/id/2206088/
A few days ago, I wrote about a test, now being marketed in the United States, that predicts whether your toddler has more potential as a power athlete or as an endurance athlete. The test examines ACTN3, a gene that affects fast generation of muscular force. Fray poster Andrea Freiboden isn't impressed. "What a lot of crap. Just look at the race of the athlete," she writes:
Generally, people of West African origin have more fast twitch muscles which allow intense bursts of power. This is why running backs, defensive linemen, and receivers are almost all black. We don't need any expensive test. All you have to do is look at the physique. Blacks in basketball are lean and muscularly [sic] hard. Whites have softer muscles, which is why white basketball players have to rely more on skill than blacks who have the advantage of skill + great speed/strength.
Oy. I've been through this wringer before. It's true that some racial averages differ in part for biological reasons. It's also true that that this is one of them. But Freiboden is exactly wrong. Race is a less, not more, reliable gauge of physical characteristics than genes are. In fact, that's one of the chief consolations of nontherapeutic genetic testing: No matter how inaccurate genes are as a predictor of this or that ability, they're more accurate than predictions based on race. And the sooner we get past judging by race, the better.Legal challenge over 'hybrid embryo' research fails – December 15, 2008
http://www.bionews.org.uk/new.lasso?storyid=4127
UK-based research into deriving disease-specific stem-cell lines from human admixed embryos has been given leave to continue after a judge denied a request for judicial review of a decision by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to license the project. In January of 2008, the HFEA issued two one-year licenses to conduct research with human admixed embryos and one research project, at the University of Newcastle, using the technique has since gone forward at the University of Newcastle. In April, two UK pressure groups, Comment on Reproductive Ethics (CORE) and the Christian Legal Association, applied for a judicial review of the decision. At a permissions hearing in November, counsel for the plaintiffs argued that the HFEA lacked the authority to grant the licenses and that the decision was, on scientific and legal grounds, irrational. Last week, the Court issued a judgement denying permission to proceed with judicial review. It found that the HFEA had taken the necessary procedural steps to ensure appropriate decision-making in issuing the licenses and concluded that the decision could not be classified as irrational. It declined to comment on the scientific grounds of the decision, pointing out that the HFEA had consulted extensively with scientific experts and that it was not the intention of the Court to rule on the merits of expert opinion.
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