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Keep genome data freely accessible (p 1099)
September 22, 2004This week's lead editorial discusses the benefits and potential risks of allowing genomic information to be freely available on the internet-and supports the recent report by the US National Research Council recommending that such information should remain freely accessible to all.
The editorial comments: 'But while free and open access to these data is a boon to science, it carries some risk: among the genome sequences freely available on the internet are those for more than 100 pathogens, including the organisms that cause anthrax, botulism, smallpox, Ebola haemorrhagic fever, and plague. It is possible that a government, a terrorist organisation, or even an individual could use data from these repositories to create novel pathogens that could be used as weapons.'
'The current system also offers tremendous benefits. The panel, which was commissioned by US health and security officials, pointed to the recent experience with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) as an example of the power of an open system. In March, 2003, WHO issued a global health alert about an atypical pneumonia in Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Guangdong Province in China. Within 6 weeks, the SARS coronavirus had been isolated and cultured, and its genome sequenced and posted on the internet. These data, freely available to all, allowed scientists around the world to begin studying this virus and its pathogenicity, led to the development of vaccine candidates and diagnostic tests, and helped guide the antiviral drug research. "Unfettered, free access to the results of life-science research . . . has served science and society well", the panel argues, accelerating research and speeding the "life-saving benefits" of that research'.
The editorial concludes: 'But beyond the practical, open-access policies of the genome database repositories serve another purpose. One that might, in the long run, be more important. They present the world with a model of international cooperation, trust, and altruism that offers a compelling alternative to the worldview of those who would use bioweapons to impose their political and ideological views.'
Lancet
The editorial concludes: 'But beyond the practical, open-access policies of the genome database repositories serve another purpose. One that might, in the long run, be more important. They present the world with a model of international cooperation, trust, and altruism that offers a compelling alternative to the worldview of those who would use bioweapons to impose their political and ideological views.'
Lancet
Genome Current Events and Genome News RSSBold traveler's journey toward the center of the Earth
The first ecosystem ever found having only a single biological species has been discovered 2.8 kilometers (1.74 miles) beneath the surface of the earth in the Mponeng gold mine near Johannesburg, South Africa.
Brainy genes, not brawn, key to success on mussel beach
It's hard being a mussel: you have to worry about hungry starfish and even hungrier humans, not to mention an environment that can change your body temperature 50 degrees Fahrenheit in just a few hours.
Scientists identify gene that may make humans more vulnerable to pulmonary tuberculosis
Researchers from the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) and its collaborators have now identified for the first time a new gene that may confer susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis.
Scientists decode genome of parasite that causes relapsing malaria
Scientists have deciphered the complete genetic sequence of the parasite Plasmodium vivax, the leading cause of relapsing malaria, and compared it with the genomes of other species of malaria parasites.
New tool probes function of rice genes
A new tool for investigating the rice genome has been developed by researchers at UC Davis led by Pamela Ronald, professor of plant pathology.
Gene with probable role in human susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis identified
A new gene that may confer susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis has been identified by Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) researchers and their collaborators in The Netherlands, Indonesia, United Kingdom, and the Russian Federation.
Researchers discover that SLC2A9 is a high-capacity urate transporter in humans
An international team of researchers led by Professors Mark Caulfield and Patricia Munroe, from the William Harvey Research Institute at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry with Chris Cheeseman at the University of Alberta in Canada and Kelle Moley at the University of Washington in USA, have shown that the SLC2A9 gene, which encodes a glucose transporter, is also a high-capacity urate transporter, and thus possibly a new drug target for gout.
Study finds genetic variant plays role in cleft lip
University of Iowa researchers and collaborators have found, in a previously identified gene, a variation that likely contributes to one in five cases of isolated cleft lip.
Anti-cancer drug prevents, reverses cardiovascular damage in mouse model of premature aging disorder
An experimental anti-cancer drug can prevent -- and even reverse -- potentially fatal cardiovascular damage in a mouse model of progeria, a rare genetic disorder that causes the most dramatic form of human premature aging, National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers reported today.
Discovering drugs, biofuels in tropical seas
The National Institutes of Health has awarded $4 million to a group of Philippine and American scientists led by Oregon Health & Science University to aid in the discovery of new molecules and biofuels technology from marine mollusks for development in the Philippines.
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