Category Archives: Transhuman News

Scientists have unlocked key components of the genetic code of bread wheat, which they believe could help contribute towards global food security.

Researchers said the achievement was a "major breakthrough" which could lead to breeding wheat varieties with higher yields.

The results of the study could also be used to breed wheat varieties with enhanced nutritional value that are better able to cope with disease, drought and other stresses that cause crop losses.

Yields of wheat, considered to be one of the most important staples, have stagnated in Europe in recent years, whereas other crops such as oilseed rape, sugar beet and maize, are increasing.

However, scientists said the identification of around 96,000 wheat genes, and insights into the links between them, laid strong foundations for accelerating wheat improvement through advanced molecular breeding and genetic engineering.

Project leader Neil Hall, from the University of Liverpool, said: "We've identified about 96,000 genes and placed them in an approximate order.

"This has made a strong foundation for both further refinement of the genome and for identifying useful genetic variation in genes that scientists and breeders can use for crop improvement."

Wheat has a global output of over 680mt and bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) provides over a fifth of the calories that we consume.

As the global population and the demand for wheat rises, major efforts are under way to improve productivity by producing varieties that can withstand adverse weather and disease, and that provide greater yields.

However, until now the very large size and complexity of the genome have been significant barriers to crop improvement.

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Public release date: 29-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, November 29, 2012Asian-American children have been at low risk for being overweight or obese compared to other racial and ethnic groups in the U.S., but that may be changing. Yet as rates of overweight and obesity rise, the risk appears to vary depending on the Asian country of origin, according to an article in Childhood Obesity, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Childhood Obesity website at http://www.liebertpub.com/chi.

In the article "Prevalence of Obesity among Young Asian-American Children," weight measurements from Asian-American 4-year-olds showed that 26% were overweight or obese and 13% were obese. The study included the following Asian ethnic categories: Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Asian Indian, Korean, Vietnamese, and Other Asian/Pacific Islander.

When the children were divided into groups based on the mother's ethnicity, the study authors, Anjali Jain, MD et al. from The Lewin Group (Falls Church, VA), Children's National Medical Center, George Washington University School of Health and Health Sciences, Georgetown University (Washington, DC), and Medical College of Virginia (Richmond), found that while Chinese-American children were at lower risk of overweight or obesity (23.5%) than Whites (36%), Asian-Indian American children had the lowest rates (15.6%) and were the most likely to be underweight. In contrast, Vietnamese-American children had the highest rate of overweight or obesity (34.7%).

"To some extent, this important article highlights variable vulnerability to childhood obesity, based on ethnicity and culture. But what may be most important is the message that groups we long thought of as relatively immune no longer are," says David L. Katz, MD, MPH, Editor-in-Chief of Childhood Obesity and Director of Yale University's Prevention Research Center. "The obesigenic forces that prevail in the developed and developing countries of the world appear to trump genes and ethnicity, and appear to be stronger than traditional cultural practices. We are all in this together, and thus all have common cause that transcends borders and cultural practices to devise the array of defenses we and our children need."

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About the Journal Childhood Obesity is a bimonthly journal, published in print and online, and the journal of record for all aspects of communication on the broad spectrum of issues and strategies related to weight management and obesity prevention in children and adolescents. The Journal includes peer-reviewed articles documenting cutting-edge research and clinical studies, opinion pieces and roundtable discussions, profiles of successful programs and interventions, and updates on task force recommendations, global initiatives, and policy platforms. It reports on news and developments in science and medicine, features programs and initiatives developed in the public and private sector, and includes a Literature Watch. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Childhood Obesity website at http://www.liebertpub.com/chi.

About the Publisher Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative medical and biomedical peer-reviewed journals, including Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders, Population Health Management, Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, and Journal of Women's Health. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 70 journals, newsmagazines, and books is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website at http://www.liebertpub.com.

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 140 Huguenot Street, New Rochelle, NY 10801-5215 http://www.liebertpub.com Phone (914) 740-2100 (800) M-LIEBERT Fax (914) 740-2101

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Which group of Asian-American children is at highest risk for obesity?

Public release date: 28-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Rob Dawson 01-793-413-204 Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

Scientists have unlocked key components of the genetic code of one of the world's most important crops. The first analysis of the complex and exceptionally large bread wheat genome, published today in Nature, is a major breakthrough in breeding wheat varieties that are more productive and better able to cope with disease, drought and other stresses that cause crop losses.

The identification of around 96,000 wheat genes, and insights into the links between them, lays strong foundations for accelerating wheat improvement through advanced molecular breeding and genetic engineering. The research contributes to directly improving food security by facilitating new approaches to wheat crop improvement that will accelerate the production of new wheat varieties and stimulate new research. The analysis comes just two years after UK researchers finished generating the sequence.

The project was led by Neil Hall, Mike Bevan, Keith Edwards, Klaus Mayer, from the University of Liverpool, the John Innes Centre, the University of Bristol, and the Institute of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, Helmholtz-Zentrum, Munich, respectively, and Anthony Hall at the University of Liverpool. W. Richard McCombie at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and Jan Dvorak at the Univerisity of California, Davis, led the US contribution to the project.

The team sifted through vast amounts of DNA sequence data, translating the sequence into something that scientists and plant breeders can use effectively. All of their data and analyses were freely available to users world-wide.

Professor Neil Hall said: "The raw data of the wheat genome is like having tens of billions of scrabble letters; you know which letters are present, and their quantities, but they need to be assembled on the board in the right sequence before you can spell out their order into genes."

"We've identified about 96,000 genes and placed them in an approximate order. This has made a strong foundation for both further refinement of the genome and for identifying useful genetic variation in genes that scientists and breeders can use for crop improvement."

Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts said: "This groundbreaking research is testament to the excellence of Britain's science base and demonstrates the capability we want to build on through the agri-tech strategy currently being developed.

"The findings will help us feed a growing global population by speeding up the development of new varieties of wheat able to cope with the challenges faced by farmers worldwide."

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Major breakthrough in deciphering bread wheat's genetic code

ScienceDaily (Nov. 28, 2012) Scientists have unlocked key components of the genetic code of one of the world's most important crops. The first analysis of the complex and exceptionally large bread wheat genome, published today in Nature, is a major breakthrough in breeding wheat varieties that are more productive and better able to cope with disease, drought and other stresses that cause crop losses.

The identification of around 96,000 wheat genes, and insights into the links between them, lays strong foundations for accelerating wheat improvement through advanced molecular breeding and genetic engineering. The research contributes to directly improving food security by facilitating new approaches to wheat crop improvement that will accelerate the production of new wheat varieties and stimulate new research. The analysis comes just two years after UK researchers finished generating the sequence.

The project was led by Neil Hall, Mike Bevan, Keith Edwards, Klaus Mayer, from the University of Liverpool, the John Innes Centre, the University of Bristol, and the Institute of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, Helmholtz-Zentrum, Munich, respectively, and Anthony Hall at the University of Liverpool. W. Richard McCombie at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and Jan Dvorak at the Univerisity of California, Davis, led the US contribution to the project.

The team sifted through vast amounts of DNA sequence data, translating the sequence into something that scientists and plant breeders can use effectively. All of their data and analyses were freely available to users world-wide.

Professor Neil Hall said: "The raw data of the wheat genome is like having tens of billions of scrabble letters; you know which letters are present, and their quantities, but they need to be assembled on the board in the right sequence before you can spell out their order into genes."

"We've identified about 96,000 genes and placed them in an approximate order. This has made a strong foundation for both further refinement of the genome and for identifying useful genetic variation in genes that scientists and breeders can use for crop improvement."

Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts said: "This groundbreaking research is testament to the excellence of Britain's science base and demonstrates the capability we want to build on through the agri-tech strategy currently being developed.

"The findings will help us feed a growing global population by speeding up the development of new varieties of wheat able to cope with the challenges faced by farmers worldwide."

Wheat has a global output of over 680million tonnes; bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) provides over a fifth of the calories that we eat. As the global population and the demand for wheat rises, major efforts are underway to improve productivity by producing varieties that can withstand adverse weather and disease, and that provide greater yields. However, until now the very large size and complexity of the genome have been significant barriers to crop improvement.

Klaus Mayer said: "Bread wheat is a complex hybrid, composed of the complete genomes of three closely related grasses. This makes it very complex and large; in total it is almost five times bigger than the human genome."

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UK, German and US scientists decipher complex genetic code to create new tools for breeders and researchers across the ...

Public release date: 29-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 x2156 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, November 29, 2012Osteoporosis, or reduced bone mineral density that can increase the risk of fractures, may affect as many as 30% of women and 12% of men worldwide. One risk factor for osteoporosis is vitamin D deficiency. A modified form of the vitamin D receptor present in some individuals may lower their risk for developing osteoporosis, according to an article in Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers website.

To act on cells in the body, vitamin D binds to a specific receptor on the surface of cells. A variation in the gene for the vitamin D receptor (called the Bsm I polymorphism) may change this interaction. In the article, "Vitamin D Receptor BSM I Polymorphism and Osteoporosis Risk: A Meta-Analysis from 26 Studies," authors Fu Jia and colleagues, Kunming Medical University and Yunnan University of Chinese Traditional Medicine, Yunnan, People's Republic of China, report that people with this genetic variation appear to have a significantly decreased risk of developing osteoporosis.

"This meta-analysis provides a pathway to help determine the likelihood that a person may develop osteoporosis and is a good example for the potential application of genetics to clinical medicine," says Kenneth I. Berns, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers, and Director of the University of Florida's Genetics Institute, College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL.

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About the Journal

Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published 12 times per year in print and online that reports on all aspects of genetic testing, including molecular and biochemical based tests and varied clinical situations; ethical, legal, social, and economic aspects of genetic testing; and issues concerning effective genetic counseling. Tables of content and a free sample issue may be viewed on the Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers website.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Human Gene Therapy and OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 70 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.

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Can a genetic variation in the vitamin D receptor protect against osteoporosis?