CR,
Someone posted this on my Options Box thread and I thought I'd toss it out here for discussion. Note the bolded sentences. <gg>
Humans beat mice gene count by a squeak
By FT.com staff
Published: February 11 2001 14:11GMT | Last Updated: February 11 2001 16:38GMT
A mouse and a man may have more in common than initially thought according to a landmark research on the human
gene map to be announced on Monday.
The research will detail the first in-depth investigation of human genetic code - or genome - and open the door to a new
era of medicine.
Scientists have found that human beings have far fewer genes than originally thought - only 300 more than a mouse,
and just twice as many as a fruit fly.
Dr Craig Venter of Celera Genomics, part of one of the two group's behind the The human genomeproject, said most
scientists thought there were somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 genes in a human being, but this estimate has
been lowered to between 26,000 and 30,000.
The estimates bring us closer to a small flowering plant called Arabidopsis thaliana, which has 25,000 genes and a
species of tiny worm that has 19,000 genes.
But the potential for effrontery does not end there. The study will also reveal that men are to blame for most
inherited genetic mutations. The consortium found that men's bodies create inheritable mutations at about
twice the rate of women's. It provides a mixed message for men. Although they provide the greater force for
evolutionary change, they create hiccups that may promote disease.
The analyses were performed by two teams that made headlines last year when they worked out nearly all the letters
of the 3bn-letter human DNA code called the genome.
The genome is a chemical sequence that contains the basic information on the mechanics of the human body. The
work is part of international efforts to decipher the genetic code of a human being and will, in the upcoming decades,
revolutionise the understanding and treatment of disease.
Information from the project should help combat diseases like cancer and diabetes, mental illness and drug
addiction and bring cures within reach. One team is a consortium of federal and institutional researchers in
the US and scientists in five other countries. They will publish their findings in Thursday's issue of Nature.
The other team, based at Celera Genomics in Rockville, Maryland will publish its report in Friday's issue of
Science.
But researchers have decades of work ahead of them as they unravel the results of the project and many other issues
to consider. Scientists are wary of the legal, ethical and social implications of genetic advances, saying that caution
and wisdom are needed to ensure the benefits are put to proper use. |
