October 2010

The IGSP sponsored or co-sponsored special events keep coming. This Sunday, October 3rd, Richard Dawkins will give a lecture and book signing in support of his latest book, The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution, in Page Auditorium. Tickets for the auditorium have all been claimed, but overflow seating is available in the Bryan Center's Griffith Film Theater where the presentation will be broadcast live. Dawkins has said the new book is the "missing link" in his writings as it "...is my personal summary of the evidence that the 'theory' of evolution is actually a fact - as incontrovertible a fact as any in science." He will be signing books before the lecture in the Gothic Bookshop.

Mark your calendars for November 3rd when the IGSP will host its Second Annual "IGSP Research At a Glance" from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm in Schiciano Auditorium Side B. The event will feature IGSP faculty, postdocs and students as they present their current research projects in 90 seconds or less. If last year's event is any guide, there are sure to be some moments you won't want to miss. That event will be followed by an "All-IGSP Community Social" on November 10th from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm in the Fitzpatrick Atrium. Food and drinks will be provided.

And don't forget that the IGSP Center for Systems Biology will hold the 5th Annual Duke Systems Biology Symposium on campus next Thursday, October 7th. Attendance is free and open to all. The focus of this year's symposium is "Systems Biology of Genes and the Environment." If you haven't already, register here.

Video: How Roots Grow
The Scientist features new findings by Philip Benfey and colleagues that reveal oscillating gene expression underlying the growth of plants' complex root systems. The work was also featured by Alltop and the Charlotte Observer. Read the original Science paper and the news release.

Genetic Switch Underlies Noisy Cell Division
Lingchong You and Joe Nevins are coauthors of a new study offering a novel theory about how the process in which one cell divides into two begins. The original study appeared in PLoS Biology.

Two Studies Find New Genetic Links to Ovarian Cancer Risk
Andrew Berchuck says that the discovery of new genetic variants that affect the risk of ovarian cancer in the general population are "a triumph of science without borders for the benefit of women everywhere." Berchuck led the steering committee for the international Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium that made the discovery. The work was featured by Reuters and Berchuck was also quoted in a story about related work in USA Today. Read the original reports in Nature Genetics here and here.

Who Steals the Gene From Off the Common
In a Financial Times column about the emerging appreciation for data sharing, James Boyle writes that "something has changed in the wars over the genome and over ownership of basic biological sequences and data. In fits and starts, in public and private initiatives, the beginnings of a consensus is emerging..."

Analysis of Educational Materials and Destruction/Opt-Out Initiatives for Storage and Use of Residual Newborn Screening Samples
In Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers, Susanne Haga writes that the development of new policies regarding the storage and use of newborn screening samples will require careful consideration of impact on screening programs, parent and provider educational materials, and respect for parents among other issues.

Generation-Biased Gene Expression in a Bryophyte Model System
In Molecular Biology and Evolution, Jonathan Shaw and colleagues including Greg Wray report the results of a study that is "the first [to] attempt to describe generation-biased gene expression in a plant with a well-developed sporophyte and gametophyte generation."

Lactic Acidosis Triggers Starvation Response with Paradoxical Induction of TXNIP Through MondoA
In PLoS Genetics, Ashley Chi and colleagues find that lactic acidosis and glucose deprivation trigger highly similar transcriptional responses in breast cancer cells, each inducing features of starvation response.

Latent Factor Analysis to Discover Pathways-Associated Putative Segmental Aneuploidies in Human Cancers
In PLoS Computational Biology, Joe Lucas and Ashley Chi describe the use of latent factor models to further dissect stress gene signatures in a breast cancer expresson dataset.

Urge Overkill: Protecting Deidentified Human Subjects at What Price?
Misha Angrist writes in The American Journal of Bioethics that "even if it can be achieved in a secure way (a big if), deidentification is already an inadequate compromise designed to retain a modicum of respect for subject privacy while relieving investigators of sometimes-capricious regulatory burdens of human subjects research."

GenomeWeb reports that The National Human Genome Research Institute is developing a grant program that would address some of the major ethical problems facing genome researchers by having scientists who study ethics, legal and social issues work with researchers conducting medical sequencing projects.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has announced funding to stimulate the discovery and development of biomarkers of alcohol consumption, biomarkers for early detection of alcohol-induced organ damage, and biomarkers of fetal alcohol exposure.

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

A selection of upcoming events:

Sunday, October 3rd
A lecture and book signing with Richard Dawkins.
The author and founder of The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science will present his latest book, The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution.

Monday, October 4th
Cancer Genomics Seminar
David Hsu will present "Genomic Strategies to Guide the Development of Personalized Medicine in Colorectal Cancer."

Monday, October 4th
Computational Biology Seminar
Andrew Allen will present "Population Stratification and Admixture: Problem and Opportunity."

Tuesday, October 5th
Tuesday Seminar Series
Debby Silver will present "Genetic Mechanisms Underlying Stem Cells and Neural Development."

Tuesday, October 5th
Genome Biology Seminar
Laura Williams, from new IGSP Investigator Jennifer Wernegreen's lab, will present.

Thursday, October 7th
Fifth Annual Systems Biology Symposium
This year's symposium will focus on "Systems Biology of Genes and the Environment." Register online.

Thursday, October 7th
Genomic and Personalized Medicine Forum
Kyle Kavanaugh will discuss "Duke Employee Plans and National Health Care Reform."

GenomeBoy, the blog written by IGSP Investigator Misha Angrist, has moved to a new network of science bloggers hosted by PLoS. Visit the new PLoS Blogosphere to read up on some of Misha's latest reflections on the protection of human research subjects who have been deidentified, the impending demise of the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health, and Society, and more.