February 2010

The next issue of GenomeLIFE will hit the stands soon. The cover story will feature efforts led by the IGSP's Center for Genomic Medicine to bring genomics into practice at Duke primary care clinics, including Pickett Road, Pickens and the Duke Executive Health Program. We'll also consider how far personal genomics has come in recent years and where the field is headed as we enter a new decade.

The issue will feature the recent discovery of a gene that may allow more precise prediction of Alzheimer's disease risk within a five- to seven-year time window. It will also highlight new Duke faculty member Nico Katsanis and his plans to make functional genomic studies in zebrafish accessible to all researchers at Duke. Finally, we'll hear from Lauren Dame on what it means now that the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA) is in effect.

Have a story idea for a future GenomeLIFE issue? Please submit them to igsp-news@duke.edu.

Lawsuit Rekindles Gene-Patent Debate
In a Nature News article about the ACLU lawsuit against Myriad over its BRCA gene patents, Bob Cook-Deegan says there is little evidence that exclusive licenses are needed to develop diagnostics.

A New Way to Face Diseases' Genetic Roots
"I think most people now view genome-wide association studies as something we absolutely had to do and have now done," David Goldstein told The New York Times. "It’s fair to say that for many common diseases nothing of very great importance was discovered, but those studies have told us what to do next."

Personal Genomics Services: What Providers Should Know
In a Medscape Today article, Geoff Ginsburg says it is only a matter of time before most practicing physicians and other healthcare providers will be faced with a patient who "walks in with a genome analysis report in hand and asks [them] what it means." (FREE REGISTRATION REQUIRED)

Team Finds Childhood Clues to Adult Schizophrenia
Years before adults develop schizophrenia, there is a pattern of cognitive difficulties they experience as children, including problems with verbal reasoning, working memory, attention and processing speed, according to a report by Avshalom Caspi and Terrie Moffitt. Read the original study in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Duke to Develop Dirty Bomb Radiation Test
IGSP Member John Chute has been awarded a contract from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to develop a genome-based test for radiation exposure from a dirty bomb or nuclear attack, The News & Observer reports.

New Clues to Y Evolution
"Just when we thought...we had a pretty good picture of what our genome is like and how it evolved, we get tossed this curve ball," says Hunt Willard in a ScienceNOW article in response to new evidence that the supposedly stagnant human Y chromosome is actually an evolutionary hotspot.

Looking Ahead with 2020 Vision
MSNBC reported on an opinion piece by David Goldstein in Nature in which he writes, "The identification of major risk factors for disease [via whole genome sequencing] is bound to substantially increase interest in embryonic and other screening programs." The article was also covered by CBS News among others.

Rare Variants Create Synthetic Genome-Wide Associations
Synthetic genome-wide associations are not only possible, but inevitable, and under simple but reasonable genetic models, they are likely to account for or contribute to many of the recently identified signals reported in genome-wide association studies, write David Goldstein and Sam Dickson in PLoS Biology.

Multiple Functional Variants in cis Modulate PDYN Expression
A fine-scale analysis of variation within the cis-regulatory region of an opioid precursor gene reveals an unexpectedly complex relationship between segregating genetic variation and its expression-trait consequences, according to a report in Molecular Biology and Evolution by Greg Wray and colleagues.

Impact of Limited Population Diversity of Genome-Wide Association Studies
In Genetics in Medicine, Susanne Haga argues that the development of clinical tools applicable to all groups will require more focus on engaging minority communities to enroll in genetics or genomics research studies and on investigators outreach to underrepresented communities.

A final reminder to undergraduates that the application deadline for IGSP Summer Research Fellowships is Friday, February 5th. Full details about the fellowship are available on our web site along with profiles of last summer's undergraduate fellows.

A new working group on personal genomics is aimed at those with an interest in direct-to-consumer services and the transition to full-genome sequencing in the forseeable future. If you would like to join, subscribe to the listserv and plan on attending the first monthly meeting on Wednesday, February 10th at 2pm in CIEMAS 2240.

For full details and the latest updates on IGSP seminars and events, see the Events Calendar

A selection of upcoming events:

Monday, February 1st
Computational Biology Seminar
Noah Rosenberg from the University of Michigan presents "Worldwide Human Genetic Variation: Implications for Disease Association Studies."

Tuesday, February 2nd
Tuesday Seminar Series
Hiten Madhani from UCSF will present "Nucleosome positioning and identity in the control of gene expression."

Tuesday, February 2nd
Genome Academy
Darin London leads a Perl Tutorial. Registration required.

Tuesday, February 2nd
A.B. Duke Speaker Series
Misha Angrist presents the third talk in the series on "The Future of the Human Body" entitled "The Human Genome: Perpetual Contemplation of an Infinite Glory...or Something."

Wednesday, February 3rd
Systems Biology Seminar
Yuriy Mileyko from the Duke math department presents "Nonlinear effects of copy number variation on gene expression."

Thursday, February 11th
Genomic Medicine Forum
Laura Beskow presents "Informed Consent and Genomic Studies."

Tuesday, February 16th
Genome Academy
Peyton Vaughn offers an "Introduction to Unix." Registration required.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse will fund research that will use systems biology and genomic and proteomic data to understand the complex relationship between HIV/AIDS and substance abuse.

A European Commission consortium is offering additional funding over the next three years for its international effort to fund genomic studies of human pathogens and ways to combat them.

The National Institutes of Health will grant roughly $43 million in fiscal year 2011 for its Shared Instrument Grant program, which provides funds to institutions seeking to buy expensive biomedical research equipment.