Genome Alberta's Official Newsletter
Genome Alberta Newsletter GeneSnips - June 17, 2008
Genome Alberta News
OILSAND METAGENOMICS
On Wednesday, June 11th, Genome Alberta sponsored a day-long session on the Microbiology of Petroleum and other Hydrocarbons . It was part of the annual Meeting of the Canadian Society of Microbiologists held in Calgary. Our Chief Science Officer Gijs van Rooijen was one of the conveners for the day and was later interviewed on CBC Radio Alberta and Saskatchewan about the event and about oilsands metagenomics. Genome Alberta is actively seeking funding for a metagenomics project.
GENOME CANADA COMPETITON LETTERS OF INTENT
The deadline for Letters of Intent for the Genome Canada Competition in Applied Genomics of Bioproducts and Crops passed and on May 27th the LOIs were reviewed for eligibility. 58 were accepted for full proposal development. This is still at a preliminary stage of course, but we are very pleased with the proposals that have gone forward from Alberta. Twenty of the LOIs feature Alberta as either the lead, co-lead or co-applicant. Full applications must be submitted to Genome Canada by October with the final funding decisions expected in early 2009.
BIO 2008
Genome Alberta joined forces with BioAlberta and a variety of other Alberta Life Sciences companies to be part of the Alberta Pavilion at Bio 2008 in San Diego. This year’s theme is Innovate. Heal, Fuel, Feed The World and our booth will be showcasing the joint Genome Alberta/Genome B.C. Mountain Pine Beetle Project . The Bio International Convention is the world’s largest Biotech convention and we’re pleased to be part of the event. We’ll be uploading pictures every day to our photo sharing site on Picasa at http://picasaweb.google.ca/MikesGene/Bio2008Gallery. If you’re a Facebook user there will be regular updates as part of the Genomics Application at http://facebook.genomealberta.ca/
CANADIAN PLANT GENOMICS WORKSHOP
Genome Alberta is one of the sponsors of the 6th Canadian Plant Genomics Workshop in Toronto being held June 23rd to the 26th. The workshop will bring together scientists and researchers from around the world to look at new advances in genomics and how they are being incorporated into the field of plant science. You can find more information on the workshop at http://cpgw2008.cagef.utoronto.ca/index.html
GEEE! IN GENOME OPENS IN RED DEER
They wanted it last time the Geee in Genome went on the road but it never happened, but this time the Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery stepped up to the plate with the 3 million dollar exhibit needed to find another stop in Red Deer. It was a tight fit but the entire 2500 sq. ft. Interactive exhibit was ready for the official opening on June 15th. Speakers at the opening included the MP for the area Bob Mills, MLA Cal Dallas, the Deputy Mayor of Red Deer County Penny Archibald, Red Deer’s Mayor Morris Flewwelling, and Harold Robinson Alberta’s representative on the Canadian Museum of Nature’s Board of Trustees. The Geee! in Genome will be in Red Deer until Labour Day and you can find information on the museum’s hours by visiting their website at http://www.museum.red-deer.ab.ca/
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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
Matching Tumors to Drugs: A clinical trial offers a first step toward personalizing cancer treatments – May 27, 2008http://www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/20822/
For years, personalized medicine--the concept that treatments could be tailored to a person's unique genetic makeup--has been more buzzword than reality. One of the first diseases expected to benefit from a personalized approach is cancer, which appears in many genetically distinct forms. A new study led by Lecia Sequist, an instructor at Harvard Medical School and an oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center , offers an initial demonstration that cancer treatment can be tailored to the genetic profile of a patient's tumor. In a small clinical trial published recently in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, patients with lung tumors were genetically screened to identify those likely to respond to a targeted therapy. Those receiving a drug matched to their tumor fared better than is typically seen with standard chemotherapy.
Genomics leader accepts U of A honorary degree
http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/article.cfm?id=9399
Within the world of genomics, the last word stops with this year's University of Alberta honorary Doctorate of Science degree recipient Craig Venter. As one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in 2007, Venter has revolutionized the understanding of genomics, microbiology, and the fundamental biodiversity of the planet. So when he spoke during the June 9 convocation ceremonies for honours and specialization degrees in science about the need to take risks and make sound choices to better life on earth, people listened. "Much of what you learn in the course of your formal education will be proven wrong in the course of your lifetimes, [which makes] constant and continual learning an essential part of your lives," said Venter. "The world in which you and your children will be the leaders will not be the world your parents lived in. We're faced with a set of circumstances never faced before by humanity."
Fresh hurdle for stem cell hunt – June, 8, 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7439435.stm
A Nobel Prize-winning scientist says it could be tougher than first thought to harness the healing power of stem cells in medicine. It had been hoped a single "master" cell could potentially be used to repair all damage in a single organ. Professor Mario Capecchi, from the University of Utah, found surprising clues that different stem cells might be working together in the same organ. This means experimental treatments relying on the wrong type might fail. Professor Capecchi, writing in the Nature Genetics, said the finding suggested stem cell biology could be "more complicated" than previously thought, which could be bad news for patients hoping for the swift arrival of new therapies. Unlike the majority of cells in the body, stem cells have special qualities.
They not only reproduce themselves, but can produce a wide variety of the cells needed in different parts of the body. In their most potent form, in the embryo, they have the ability to create any tissue in the body, but cells with more limited, but still useful, abilities have been found in the organs of adults.
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Genome Alberta in Pictures
The Geee! in Genome moved from the Telus World of Science in Edmonton to the Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery. You can see a full gallery of pictures from the June 15th opening at: http://picasaweb.google.com/MikesGene/GeeeInRedDeer
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