Globalization of Science
Edison Liu, President and CEO, The Jackson Laboratory
March 2012 | The past ten years have seen tremendous changes in the power and utility of sequence information, and in the pace of globalization. The advance of genomics technologies has dramatically increased the impact of genetic information on biological investigations. Gene hunting is no longer a molecular exercise but a computational sport and the scale of the studies have elevated from single gene analysis to whole genome reconstructions. Just as analytical firepower from computers enabled robotics thus moving analysis to action, genomics is enabling synthetic biology, which promises to be a game-changer.
The second trend, globalization of science, has more important social and political ramifications. In the last 10-15 years, the balance of scientific productivity has equilibrated to include Asia. Science and innovation is no longer just the domain of North America and Europe. In fact, in certain areas, Asia is potentially leading. The location of the world’s most powerful genomics center—BGI in China—was inconceivable just ten years ago. More than the simple production of data, this means that innovation, which is the fuel for the new economy, will be found in the East.
In the years ahead, I predict that we will be using massive biological data that includes genomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic data to reconstruct complete systems. Understanding and harnessing biological/genetic complexity will provide more nuanced (and correct) medical predictions, and will allow us to reconstruct complex biological systems for production. The latter will give us whole organism solutions to crop improvements, environmental remediation, and biomass conversion.
Medical solutions for sustaining health will now come from a systems understanding of disease. The systems comparisons between disease models in the mouse and the human will be the key to new medicine. For example, why a mutation causes disease in one species and not the other provides the genetic clues for new cures. Moreover, the understanding of disease mechanisms will be used to reconstruct the necessary components to enhance an individual’s robustness against disease and infirmity—which will be the foundation for future preventative medicine. This shift from data generation to complexity analysis, to systems reconstruction will require deep understanding of model systems such as the mouse.
What will the key challenges be for the entire biomedical research community? I project that they will be mainly cultural, managerial, and pedagogical. Indeed, limiting resources because of economic austerity are challenging. But, many of our systems are outdated and insufficiently forward looking. Our Ph.D. programs will need to be more quantitative, modular, and less domain intensive. This means that fewer individuals should be trained as focused cancer biologists but as individuals who use cancer biology as a model system to answer fundamental biological and technological problems. Our promotion systems that reward isolated brilliance will have to accommodate collective contributions. As a community, we will need to find ways to establish enabling infrastructures that will position us for future strength rather than to support historical biases. All this means that some old structures must be taken down to allow for new ones to be built. This is never easy.
But what would the benefit be? The 21st century will be among the most challenging for humanity as food and energy become scarcer, as our populations age, and as the environment continues to degrade. It will be innovations in biosciences—and their implementation—that will save us all.
National Institutes of Health epigenomics public data resource now available!
Researchers in the Reference Epigenome Mapping Consortium, part of the NIH Common Fund’s Roadmap Epigenomics Program (http://commonfund.nih.gov/epigenomics), have begun creating a community resource of genome-wide epigenetic maps in a variety of human primary cell and tissue types. The data currently represent more than 100 samples including adult and fetal cells and tissues, and embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells. The majority of reference epigenomes being generated contain information about DNA methylation, a core set of histone modifications, chromatin accessibility, and gene expression. A subset of reference epigenomes will also contain an expanded set of at least twenty additional histone modifications. The Consortium’s website (http://roadmapepigenomics.org) provides information about protocols developed by Consortium members, information about data standards, and links to a variety of sites where the epigenomic data can be visualized in a genome browser or downloaded for subsequent analysis.
Are Alcoholic Habits Determined by Genes?
A recently published study has revealed that a gene related to autism, called autism susceptibility candidate 2, or AUTS2, is linked to increased alcohol consumption.
To read more, please go to www.mgrc.com.my/genomics_news/AUTS2.shtml
12th International Meeting On HUMAN GENOME VARIATION AND COMPLEX GENOME ANALYSIS (HGV2011)
Date: 8th-10th September 2011
Place: Claremont Hotel Club and Spa, Berkeley, CA, USA
Website: http://www.hgvmeeting.org/hgv2011
Abstract deadline: 31st May 2011
Registration deadline: Open until all delegate places taken
* Topics to be covered include methods/strategies for utilisation of different types of DNA variation (e.g., SNPs and copy number variations-CNVs), functional genomics applications, population genetics, bioinformatics, databases, algorithm development, personal genome sequencing, The 1000 Genomes Project, and the study of human disease.
* Postdoctoral fellows, junior faculty member, and under-represented groups can apply for meeting grants to help minimise their attendance costs.
HGM 2011 on City TV News
Catch City TV News report on HGM 2011 here. The HGM 2011 news segment is between the times 03:47 and 06:42.
HGM2012 Sydney video on YouTube
View HGM2012 Sydney video on YouTube now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2utMRLGFy0
OMIM is available through a new and improved website, omim.org
OMIM is available through a new and improved website, omim.org. The
website has a fresh new look that emphasizes the relationship between
diseases and genes. To improve clinical usefulness, omim.org includes
ICD9, ICD10 and SNOMED CT codes, new links to clinical trials.gov,
OrphaNet, Ensembl, Model Organisms, and more. Links in OMIM are
organized and take users directly to relevant information. OMIM’s Gene
Map is now searchable by genomic coordinates. User feedback is
encouraged via the “Contact Us” link at the top of every page.
Development of omim.org was funded by Johns Hopkins Medicine, and the
site is hosted at the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) Genome
Bioinformatics. OMIM is sponsored by a grant from NHGRI.
Next Gen Sequencing Newsletter – April Issue
Key highlights in this month’s Next Generation Sequencing Newsletter issue include:
- A Genomic Blueprint for Cancer
By comparing the genome sequence of healthy and cancerous cells in 38 people diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an aggressive blood cancer, scientists have created a molecular map of what goes awry in this disease. Read more here. - New Gene Regions Identified That Predispose People to Heart Attacks: Some Hint at Previously Unknown Mechanisms That Increase Risk
Scientists have identified 13 new gene sites associated with the risk of coronary artery disease and validated 10 sites found in previous studies. Several of the novel sites discovered in the study do not appear to relate to known risk factors, suggesting previously unsuspected mechanisms for cardiovascular disease. Read more here.
Read these and other updates at www.mgrc.com.my/newsletter.
Next Gen Sequencing Newsletter – March Issue
Key highlights in this month’s Next Generation Sequencing Newsletter issue include:
- Social Networking’s Newest Friend: Genomics
The first large-scale study to combine genome sequencing and social network analysis has solved a mysterious TB outbreak. Collaborators at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) integrated the two tools to create a much clearer picture of the outbreak. Read more here. - Whole Genome Sequencing Used to Help Inform Cancer Therapy
Physicians and researchers at Mayo Clinic in Arizona and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) have successfully sequenced the genomes of a single patient’s normal and pancreatic cancer cells respectively – a tour de force of more than 6 billion DNA chemical bases. Read more here.
Read these and other updates at www.mgrc.com.my/newsletter.
Genome Canada Director, Technology Programs
Genome Canada to recruit a Director, Technology Programs for the organization. Details, please click here to download.
Closing date: March 21st, 2011
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