NSTA News Stories
Scientists Draft Maps of Rice Plant Genome (The Washington Post)
In what many are calling one of the most important scientific breakthroughs in several years, two groups of researchers report in the April 5 issue of Science that they have detailed the genetic "life code" of rice, making it the first food crop to be sequenced. Such genetic information is significant, scientists say, because it should speed up the breeding of tougher, more nutritious, and higher-yielding rice varieties that can help feed the world's growing population.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A63819-2002Apr4
Scientists Compile Map of Mouse's Genome (The Washington Post)
Marking yet another milestone in the field of genetics,
scientists announced in early May that they had drafted the genome map of
the laboratory mouse. Because mice and humans are quite similar in their genetic
inheritance (both, for example, have about 30,000 genes), scientists believe
the information will provide key insights into how various genes work in humans,
thus advancing the quest for new medical treatments and cures.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42950-2002May6.html
Alzheimer's Gene Screened From Newborn (The Washington Post)
Using sophisticated
genetic techniques, doctors in Chicago have helped a woman give birth to a
baby who is free of her family's curse of early Alzheimer's disease. The work
is one of several recent advances in a field known as pre-implantation genetic
diagnosis, in which eggs or embryos are tested for disease genes and only
embryos lacking such genes are transferred into a woman's womb. But the work
is also raising ethical concerns, with some questioning whether the availability
of such tests will induce parents to select for traits that are not strictly
linked to disease but instead reflect personal preferences.
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more.