Sono stata a Berlino ieri e l'altro ieri alla congerenza di Human Genome
Organisation.
questo è un buon report per che non c'e' stato
Giulia


April 5, 2004 Minding the genome gapHUGO conference opens with plea to refocus
efforts on differences, not disease genotypes |

BERLIN—Roughly a year after the human genome sequence was completed, scientists
meeting at the opening of the Human Genome Meeting on Sunday (April 4) were
reminded about the enormous gaps that remain in our understanding of our genetic
makeup.

“We have the sequence of 100 species or so a click away on the Web… but how do
we use that information? How can we address the complexity of disease background
at the DNA level?” asked Leena Peltonen, from the University of Helsinki in
Finland. “We shouldn't be unrealistically optimistic.”

“We are still not sure what is the best way to understand the function of the
genome,” Human Genome Organisation (HUGO) President Yoshiyuki Sakaki told the
opening session. Maynard Olson from the University of Washington, added, “The
future of genomics is a really big topic.”

Olson said that future may be in peril unless the scientific establishment
focuses on a fundamental aspect of human genetics that has been overlooked: how
the most obvious differences among individuals—like hair color, height, weight,
and handedness—are generated.

“It's truly striking… how little we know about these obvious questions that even
a child would ask,” Olson said. “Why have geneticists ignored this question of
why humans vary from one another in these ways?” he asked. It has been ignored
partly because of the complexity of the issue, the difficulty of getting funds
for nonmedical research, and “the long shadow of eugenics,” Olson said. “Our
obsessive focus on disease genotypes is premature… My broader agenda is
essential for longer-term benefits.”

“Its going to take all of our efforts… to develop the level of trust with
society that would make it acceptable to study this subject that is essential to
human genomics,” Olson said. Difficult as these ethical issues are, mainstream
science needs to focus on them, rather than leave it to rogue elements, he said.
“Are we prepared to bring to bear the value systems of the science establishment
to bear on these questions or are we going to engage in a long guerrilla war
with fringe elements?” he asked.

Links for this article
T.M. Powledge, “Human Genome Project complete,” The Scientist, April 15, 2003.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/news/20030415/03/

Human Genome Meeting, Berlin, April 4–7, 2004
http://hgm2004.hgu.mrc.ac.uk/

Leena Peltonen
http://www.hi.helsinki.fi/hi/res/palotie/palotie.html

Yoshiyuki Sakaki
http://www.hgc.ims.u-tokyo.ac.jp/organize/sakaki/members/sakaki/

Maynard Olson
http://www.gs.washington.edu/faculty/olson.htm


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