Genome Alberta's Official Newsletter

Genome Alberta Newsletter GeneSnips - March 17, 2009

 

Genome Alberta News

Science Communication at a Crossroads

This seminar is part of the Picard Lecture in Health Law and will feature Matthew C. Nisbet, a Professor in the School of Communication at American University, Washington, D.C.

Mr. Nisbet’s blog ‘Framing Science’ (http://scienceblogs.com/framing-science/) has become a favourite with anyone interested in the intersection of science, media, and politics and his seminar will surely be as informative as his blog. It takes place on Thursday, March 19 at noon in Room 231/237 in the Law Centre at the University of Alberta and if you’re interested in attending please RSVP to hli@law.ualberta.ca

Canada and the Biotech Industry: What Will it Take

Join BioAlberta and Dr. Daniel Billen, VP & General Manager of Amgen Canada for breakfast on Wednesday, April 1^st at the Royal Glenora Club in Edmonton.  The cost is $20 for BioAlberta members and $35 for non-members. Please RSVP to Sandra Wilburn at BioAlberta at 780-425-3802 or sandra@bioalberta.com by March 27, 2009

Dr. Billen launched Amgen's operations in Canada and with over 18 years of experience in the Canadian biotechnology scene, he has great insights on what it will take to ensure the success of our biotech industry. 

Volunteer Judges Needed

The 48th Annual Calgary Youth Science Fair is only a month away and they are still in search of volunteers to judge the event.  Judging takes place on Friday April 3, from 7:15 AM to Noon. There is Judges Preview the night before from 5 to 8 PM. The preview allows all judges to review the presentation backboards for the projects they will likely be judging on Friday morning. All judges are encouraged to drop in to preview the projects with no students present, and to meet with other judges in a social setting.

If you’re a first time judge, the organizers also offer a seminar on your choice of March 17^th, March 25^th and April 2^nd.

This is an excellent opportunity to give lend an encouraging hand to entrants from Grades 5/6 or 7 -12  who are interested in science and who may see science as a future calling. You can find more information at http://cysf.org or if you’re already sold on the idea register at http://cysf.org/checklist-judge.html

For more detailed questions contact Jennifer Gerritsen, Elementary Evaluations Committee, elementary@cysf.org or Danny Glin, Secondary Evaluations Committee, secondary@cysf.org, Calgary Youth Science Fair Society.

Genome Alberta supports Youth Science Fairs around the province and we encourage you to find the time to help out some of Canada’s future scientists.

Tim Caulfield in Qatar

Timothy Caulfield, one of the Principal Investigators in the GE3LS Translating Science Project, was asked to present at ‘Stem Cells: Saving Lives or Crossing Lines’, March 15-17 in Doha, Qatar. The symposium is hosted by the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University and the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development. For more information on the workshop go to http://www.stemcellqatar2009.com/

The topic for Tim’s presentation is The Translation of Stem Cell Research: The Impact of Policies and Patent Approaches. While in Qatar Tim he is also schedule to meet with Princess Kasia Al Thani of Qatar.

OGI invests in Ontario start-up Cytognomix DNA probe technology

Through its Pre-commercialization Business Development Fund program, the Ontario Genomics Institute (OGI) has invested in a London, Ontario start-up company, Cytognomix, to enable the commercial development of cytogenetic DNA probes. The probes will  be used to detect and pinpoint anomalies in the genome at higher resolution than is routinely possible could result in more effective disease diagnostics and more tailored treatment for patients.

Go to www.ontariogenomics.ca for the full release.

Science Highlights from the U.S. stimulus package,  2009 budget before Congress, and President Barack Obama's 2010 request

ENERGY: DOE's Office of Science gets $4.77 billion in 2009, up 19%. The ITER project in France gets $124 million, $90 million less than requested. DOE's national labs and other facilities divide the $1.6 billion stimulus money, and the department gets $400 million to create the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy. No 2010 research numbers are available.

NSF: The $394 million boost for 2009, to $6.49 billion, is on top of $3 billion in stimulus money for research, infrastructure, and education. The agency's six research directorates would grow to $5.18 billion, and education to $845 million. The $11 million Robert Noyce Scholarship program for prospective teachers gets its second straight $40 million bump, and a program to help researchers in states that struggle to win NSF grants would grow by $20 million, to $133 million.

NIH: The agency's 3.2% increase this year, to $30.3 billion, is supplemented by $10.4 billion from the stimulus package. The 2010 budget mentions only "over $6 billion within the National Institutes of Health to support cancer research." The National Cancer Institute's budget this year is $5 billion.

NASA: The space agency will receive $17.8 billion in 2009, $380 million more than in 2008. A $200 million drop in the agency's science programs, to $4.5 billion, is remedied in its $1 billion stimulus package. The $18.7 billion request for 2010 bolsters earth sciences and robotic probes to visit other planets. The new launcher to send humans to the moon wins funding, but the White House may review the target of a 2020 lunar landing.

NIST: A $63 million jump in 2009, to $819 million, maintains the $65 million Technology Innovation Program. Obama would raise that to $70 million in 2010. The stimulus funds add $220 million to a $470 million research budget, $180 million to a $172 million lab-construction program, and provide $180 million for a facilities grants competition.

Age of Personalized Genomics.

Just a reminder that the web pages for the Age of Personalized Genomics Conference are live and ready for you to look over the draft agenda and to register. This is the 5^th International DNA Sampling Conference and it is being held this September in Banff. There is already an excellent roster of speakers confirmed and with direct-to-consumer genetic testing hitting not just science circles but even popular magazines such as Vogue and GQ you can bet the list of pros and cons will continue to grow.

Head for www.genomealberta.ca/APG for all the details.

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GE³LS Digest

Your DNA is a snitch: Today's simple genetic tests can reveal your private nature. Just don't expect it to stay secret. – February 17, 2009
http://www.salon.com/env/feature/2009/02/17/genetic_testing/index.html
Your DNA is a set of bodily instructions, a catalog of our evolutionary past and a personal warning label about your health risks. It is also a secret. No one knows what your DNA says.
Right? That's a question looming larger in American life as genetic testing becomes a mainstream activity. Time named direct-to-consumer DNA exams its Invention of the Year for 2008, following the emergence of companies like 23andMe and Navigenics, which report on your genetic risk of illnesses such as prostate cancer or Parkinson's. Academic medical research efforts like Harvard's Personal Genome Project aim to study the DNA of volunteers, hoping to find genetic links to diseases. So do healthcare providers: In December, California-based Kaiser Permanente announced plans to study the DNA of 400,000 members.

Canadians make stem cell breakthrough – March 2, 3009
http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/abc/home/contentposting.aspx?isfa=1&feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V3&showbyline=True&date=true&newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20090227%2fstem_cells_090228
Canadian researchers have found what could be a new way to make embryonic-like stem cells, a discovery that could lead to cures for devastating conditions such as spinal cord injury and Parkinson's disease. … This new method, described online in the journal Nature, uses a novel "wrapping" procedure to deliver specific genes to adult cells to reprogram them into stem cells, without damaging the cell's DNA.

Genomic medicine: considerations for health professionals and the public – February 25, 2009
http://www.genomemedicine.com/content/1/2/25/abstract
Advances in human genomics are ushering in a new era of predictive, preventative and personalized approaches to medicine. However, as the integration of genomic medicine progresses, the health community has a responsibility to communicate to the public the risks and challenges of genetic information. A possible knowledge transfer framework is outlined as a means to bridge the practical uses of genetics within various ethical, social and economic contexts. Tools and resources are needed to help clinicians understand genetic risks and help them inform the public appropriately and effectively.

To view past issues of the GE³LS Digest or to subscribe to the Digest please go to:
http://genomealberta.ca/ge3ls/newsletters.aspx

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Genome Alberta in Pictures

Susanne Cardwell, Administrative Co-ordinator with the 4D Project, was playing with her camera and took some interesting pictures around the team’s lab. Go to our Picasa photo-sharing site for this picture and many more from the project.

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