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To: Jimbo who wrote (26841)	12/11/1998 9:24:00 PM
From: JEB	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 119973

This is no Jurassic Park fantasy. These scientists have mapped a complete animal genome: Genetic Can of Worms By Sean Henahan, Access Excellence Washington, DC (12/11/98)- Researchers expect big things from the little worm C.elegans, now that the genome has been sequenced completely. While the genomes of yeast and bacteria have been sequenced, this is the first time a complete animal genome has been mapped. Genome researchers in St. Louis, MO. and Cambridge, England worked together for eight years to elucidate the genetic blueprint for the lowly worm, a longtime favorite of geneticists. The instruction set for building the one millimeter round worm Caenorhabditis elegans is contained in 97 million-base pairs packed inside six chromosomes. Analysis of the genome found 19,099 protein-coding genes along with another 800 genes that appear to have other functions. This itself comes as a surprise, since classical genetics predicted there would be several times fewer genes. "This is a tremendously gratifying moment and more of a beginning than an end. We have provided biologists with a powerful new tool to experiment with and learn how genomes function. We'll be able to ask-and answer-questions we could never even think about before," said Robert Waterston, leader of the St. Louis group. Previous analyses of partial and complete genomes of various organisms has shown a remarkable conservation of genes across species. A new comparison of the genome of the S. cerevisiae yeast with that of the worm showed that 40 percent of the yeast and 20 percent of the worm sequences code for highly conserved proteins that carry out biological processes common to both microorganisms, including DNA and RNA metabolism and protein folding, trafficking and degradation. This finding give insight into the long-term process of evolution, suggesting that the genes were present and their functions were already established in the common ancestor of fungi and animals. "This study represents an important advance. It shows that we can learn the function of worm genes from the yeast, and vice versa, which makes it likely that we can also learn the function of conserved human genes from either of these organisms," said David Botstein, PhD, Stanford W. Ascherman professor of genetics at Stanford University School of Medicine and senior author of the study. " While C. elegans itself is happy to live in the dirt eating bacteria, it is related to several worms that parasitize human intestines. The knowledge gained from mapping the C. elegans genome could also lead to new ways of preventing and treating the diseases caused by these worms. Researchers might be able to use C. elegans to develop drugs that target unique nematode genes, creating new strategies for controlling parasites. The current genome research was characterized by a philosophy of sharing information freely. Researchers from around the world were able to access and contribute to the C.elegans genome database over the Internet. "The commitment of these groups to make their sequence data available to the research community right from the start is admirable. It typifies the spirit of the Human Genome Project and is exactly how we plan to operate our sequencing program on the human genome and other model organisms," said Francis Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute. The research appears in the December 11, 1998 issue of the journal Science.

To: Jimbo who wrote (26841)	12/11/1998 9:24:00 PM
From: Tim Luke	Respond to of 119973

Friday December 11, 8:19 pm Eastern Time Oracle, Sun Micro to announce new type of computer By Duncan Martell PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec 11 (Reuters) - Oracle Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc., in a direct assault on their mutual archrival Microsoft Corp., will announce on Monday they will work together on a new type of computer that does not require an operating system, analysts and industry sources said. With Microsoft, the world's largest software company, now mired in its antitrust case with government regulators, its competitors -- Sun, Oracle, America Online Inc. and others -- are becoming more emboldened to attack Microsoft more directly. This latest assault from Sun and Oracle -- if their initiative bears fruit -- could obviate the need for the software giant's Windows NT operating system, designed for heavy-duty computing. NT competes primarily with Sun's own brand of the Unix operating system called Solaris and Hewlett-Packard Co.'s, called HP-UX. ''What Oracle and Sun are doing here is cutting out Microsoft,'' said Rob Enderle, an analyst with market research firm Giga Information Group. ''That would get them both excited and is reasonably compelling.'' On top of that, Enderle said, a recent survey conducted by his firm showed that dissatisfaction with Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft was running high among its corporate customers. ''Dissatisfaction is extremely high with Microsoft, much higher than with anyone else,'' Enderle said. ''It looks like the market might respond very favorably to this.'' Officials for Sun and Oracle declined to comment. A telephone conference call is scheduled for 10 a.m. Pacific time Monday (1300 EST, 1800 GMT) with Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison and Sun Chief Executive Scott McNealy. When the products would be available was not clear. Ellison, in a keynote address in November at the mammoth Comdex computer trade show in Las Vegas, outlined his plans to bundle Oracle's latest Internet friendly database, 8i, on computers that would bypass the need for Windows NT and any other operating system. He said then Oracle would ship products by March, adding that his company was already in discussions with Sun, Hewlett Packard, Compaq Computer Corp. and Dell Computer Corp. about supplying the hardware for the deal. Oracle's database now runs on top of Sun's operating system, NT and others. Although there will be no operating system, the computers and Oracle's software would still requires a ''microkernel,'' essentially a tiny piece of software to help Oracle's database software ''talk to'' the hardware. Ellison did not specify what type of kernel the company would select, but candidates include kernels from operating systems software such as Linux, HP-UX, Solaris, System 10 from Apple Computer Inc., FreeBSD and NetBSD. Enderle said Oracle would most likely pick Sun's kernel, because it already has experience working with it and it is more powerful and easier to make it work in computers with multiple microprocessors, the brains of the devices. ''Sun and Oracle have united to say you don't need Bill Gates and Microsoft,'' said David Wu, an analyst with ABN Amro Chicago Corp. in San Francisco. ''You don't need more than a microkernel'' to run Oracle's database. Oracle shares rose $2.06 to $37.25 on the Nasdaq, following stronger-than-expected fiscal second-quarter earnings announced Thursday. Sun shares rose $4.38 to $77.38. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------