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PETBioNewsNewsGlobal genes and diseases project launched

BioNews

Global genes and diseases project launched

Published 4 November 2002 posted in News and appears in BioNews 182

Author

BioNews

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.

Scientists from six countries are to begin work on a major new project to identify human genetic variations associated with common diseases, it was announced last week. The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has secured funding of $100 million over the next three years for the work, which has...

Scientists from six countries are to begin work on a major new project to identify human genetic variations associated with common diseases, it was announced last week. The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has secured funding of $100 million over the next three years for the work, which has been dubbed the 'HapMap Project'. Researchers will study DNA samples from 200-400 people to try and uncover the genetic differences linked to illnesses such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes.


Since the publication of a consensus human genetic code two years ago, scientists have been seeking to identify the variations that predispose people to common diseases. The HapMap project will look for genetic markers that have been inherited together in a block over many generations, indicating that they are physically close to each other.


To identify these 'haplotype blocks', researchers will study people from China, Nigeria, Japan and the US. Between them, these populations are thought to represent the majority of human genetic variation. It is hoped that scientists will then be able to pinpoint genes involved in, for example, diabetes, by looking for slight differences in these haplotype blocks in people with the disease.


The project will build on recent efforts to pinpoint single-letter variations in the human genetic code, known as SNPs (single-nucleotide polymorphisms). Scientists will be able to focus their attention on subsets of SNPs likely to be involved in a particular disease, once data from the HapMap project has narrowed down the regions of interest. As it becomes available, information from the project will be made available to the entire
scientific community via the Internet. 'Essentially, the HapMap is a very powerful shortcut that represents enormous long-term savings in studies of complex disease' said Dr David Bentley of the Sanger Institute in the UK.

Sources and References

  • 01/11/2002
    Science
    HapMap launched with pledges of $100 million
  • 29/10/2002
    The Washington Post
    Global project on genetic variation begins
  • 29/10/2002
    Yahoo Daily News
    Project will map genetic variations

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Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
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Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
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Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
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Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
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Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
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An international consortium that aims to catalogue patterns of human genetic variation has dropped restrictions on the use of its data. The 'HapMap' project, launched in October 2002, is looking at DNA samples from 270 people from around the world, to help uncover the genetic differences linked to illnesses such...

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