Tuesday, August 28, 2001

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"The SNP Consortium announced Tuesday that it had forged agreements with Motorola, Celera, Applied Biosystems, and Rutgers University that would enable it to build a SNP-based linkage map of the human genome by the end of the year.

The Consortium said it would make its linkage map available for free to researchers around the world."

Analytical Chemistry News & Features SNP Mining

"Researchers have not yet plumbed the depths of the Human Genome Project, but they are already looking for better prospects in the form of genetic variations called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, pronounced "snips"). Although SNPs are not the only type of genetic variation, many researchers expect them to be the most helpful for identifying disease genes. Others think SNPs will catapult us into the era of personalized medicine, when pharmacogenetics will enable physicians to prescribe drugs based on detailed knowledge of our genotypes. But even as enthusiasm for SNP analysis grows, studies suggest that there is a lot of pyrite mixed with the gold. And nobody knows how long the commercial sector will have to dig to reach pay dirt."

redux [07.23.01]
BioMedNet Genetic individuality
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"A haplotype is defined as the genetic constitution of a person with respect to one member of a pair of genes. Small differences in genes are known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Researchers analyzed 313 genes in 82 individuals with different ancestral backgrounds. They found that "the strength of the genetic association of pairs of SNPs (linkage disequilibrium), which is important in the identification of disease-related genes, could not be readily predicted from examining individual genes or genomic regions." It appears that haplotypes provide more information as genetic markers in a gene than do SNPs.

Reference: Stephens, J.C., Schneider, J.A., Tanguay, D.A. et al. 2001. Haplotype variation and linkage disequilibrium in 313 human genes. Science 293(5529):489-493."

USA Today Genome guide is next goal

"Until recently, scientists had hoped to predict a person's response to medicines and find disease-causing genes by analyzing specific gene variations, called single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs. But the vast number of SNPs in the human genome would make this costly and laborious.

But new research indicates that SNPs actually travel together from one generation to the next in strands called haplotypes, Collins says.

Creating a haplotype map, he says, would greatly simplify the process of analyzing an individual's risk of disease and response to certain drugs. "The whole Human Genome Project has been a prelude to this," says Eric Lander of MIT, a leader of the publicly funded project."

""Trust me, it's going to be a very powerful way to understand genetic disease," he said."

redux [07.18.01]
BioMedNet For haplotype mappers, deja vu all over again
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"A US government-centered effort to gain useful information from a map of single nucleotype polymorphisms (SNPs) might be late off the starting block, again chasing a private effort toward the same goal. That conclusion is emerging even as the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) convenes a two-day planning meeting here, involving the SNP consortium of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies as well as academic leaders."

"Larry Thompson, chief of the communications and public liaison branch of NHGRI, told BioMedNet News that there is no Haplotype Project currently underway, and this week's meeting (which Brooks had billed as the "Haplotype Meeting") will examine the opportunities that the science presents. "This is a natural extension of efforts that are currently underway and which we believe will help identify genes and their relationship to disease," he said. "How this project will take shape is a big unknown at the moment.""

Wired News Geneticists Await Haplotype Map

"An effort called the SNP Consortium is also underway to identify and interpret individual variations. Looking at SNPs individually can help determine predisposition to disease and potential reactions to drugs."

""It's like the differences between buses and cars," Venter explained."

"These are difficult concepts for non-scientists to understand, but Collins said everyone has an interest in knowing about this type of research."

""Trust me, it's going to be a very powerful way to understand genetic disease," he said."