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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Page 5
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THE BATTALION
Mooving along
Texas A&Mprofessor compares human and cattle genes
Study shows embryo
flaws may
London researchers present findings
regarding reasons forfaited pregnancies
Noni Sridhara
The Battalion
The race to map the hu-
'man genome heated up this
summer, and a related project
at Texas A&M to compare the
genetic map of cattle DNA to hu
man DNA is in its second year of a
three-year grant.
James Womack, a professor of vet
erinary pathobiology, has teamed up with
researchers from the University of Illi-
nois,to compare the genetic map of cattle
DNA to human DNA. So far the team has
identified 768 cattle genes. Of the identi
fied genes, 638 are identical to human
genes.
Womack said the result will be the third
most extensive mammalian map behind
those of the mouse and cat.
Harris Lewin, director of the W.M.
Keck Center for Comparative and Func
tional Genomics at the University of
Illinois, is heading the project. He told
The Daily Illinoisian that the project
will help scientists understand the
molecular genetic basis for the ma
jor (physical) differences among
the mammals.
Womack said his interest in
the project was sparked by talk
ing with a colleague at the
National Institute of
Health in
Bethesda,
•\ Md., who
^ Tudy-
1 '
ing cattle genomics.
“We knew this would have a huge im
pact upon the economy of our state and
therefore would be a very valuable project
from an economic perspective among oth
ers,” he said.
“This helped us map traits of economic
importance such as size, weight, resistance
to disease and meat quality,” he said.
Womack said because the team esti
mates the number of genes in the cattle to
tal 50,000, completing the sequence would
be a multi-billion dollar project.
Womack said the research is also useful
from a nutritional and health perspective
because it could be used to reduce antibi
otics in meat and milk.
“We want to produce our food without
using a lot of chemicals and find antibiot
ic-resistant genes.”
Mark Band, a postdoctoral research as
sociate who is part of the team of re
searchers at the University of Illinois, said
in the article from The Daily Illinoisan on
Oct. 10 that a primary concern in cattle
breeding is the overuse of antibiotics.
“This cattle map allows us to locate
health traits so we can breed higher pro
duction animals-with higher disease resis
tance,” he said.
“This affects human health because
there will be less antibiotics in their food,
so humans won’t develop a resistance to
them.”
Womack said the history of genetic
mapping started in the 1980s.
“We started with the comparison of the
gene maps of mice and humans so we
ft
Mapping
helps produce T
meat that is tender
k and flavorful.
could
get an idea
of how their
genomes differed, --p
he said. “Then we de
cided that we need to be
looking at more species for
in-depth comparative
genomics.”
In the mid 1980s, scientists
started using somatic cell genetics, a
genetic mapping process in which pro
tein molecules from body cells are used
as map markers. The map markers show
the researchers where a gene correspond
ing to a specific protein is located along
the strand of DNA.
Womack said, by the early ‘90s, mole
cular biology was revolutionized by the in
formation technology age that helped the
process of genetic mapping become
computerized.
“This comparative
mapping will allow us to
analyze all this research to
different aspects of this
project and discover
more linkages between
cattle and human
genes.”
50,000
genome project
also aids in
producing foods
without using a lot
of chemicals and
finds antibiotic
resistant genes.
RUBEN DELUNA/i m-. BattaI ion
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Most hu-
I man embryos possess genetic de
fects just days into their develop
ment, a finding that researchers say
may explain why many pregnancies
fail shortly after conception.
Researchers who studied all 46
chromosomes in 3-day-old embryos
said Sunday they believe a new test
can improve suc
cess rates for in
fertile patients by
allowing doctors
to choose em
bryos with normal
sets of chromo
somes for implan
tation into a moth
er’s womb.
The technology
could also de
crease the number
of multiple births
to women under
going in-vitro fer
tilization because less embryos would
have to be inserted into the womb to
lead to a successful pregnancy.
“This is a technique that allows
an unprecedented amount of chro
mosomal information to be gained
from looking at a single cell,” said
Dagan Wells, one of the researchers
at the University College in London
in charge of the study.
The results indicate that uniform
cell development often did not oc
cur in the first few days after con
ception.
Wells said cells instead would of
ten divide unevenly, with chromo
somes sticking together in destruc
tive clusters or not dividing at all.
Almost all human cells have 46
So, theories
suggest it is pos
sible for the em
bryos to fix
themselves in
some cases."
— Dagan Wells
University College researcher
chromosomes, 23 from each parent.
Wells and colleague Joy Delhan-
ty studied 12 embryos at 3 days old.
Only three contained complete sets
of chromosomes. Abnormality oc
curred in nine of the embryos, in
cluding broken or hybrid sets of
chromosomes. Three of the em
bryos had no normal cells at all,
Wells said.
He added that
while the study re
veals many embryos
are not viable, the re
sults should not be
. interpreted to mean
that all embryos are
flawed, as previous
researchers had
speculated using less
sophisticated tests.
“There have been
cases where early
tests have shown a
chromosomal abnor
mality in an embryo, but when the
baby is born, it doesn’t have the ab
normality,” Wells said. “So, theories
suggest it is possible for the env
bryos to fix themselves in some
cases
Wells is doing research at the la-
stitute for Reproductive Medicine
and Science in West Orange, N.J., to
improve the testing process.The
process is not ready for clinical tri;-
al because the time it takes to com
plete the procedure exceeds six days
— the maximum time fertility doc
tors will keep an embryo outside the
womb.The findings were presented
to reporters Sunday at the American
Society for Reproductive Medi
cine’s annual meeting.
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m TAMU Career Center- Career Services for Life Sciences
The Life Sciences Former Student Panel
Tuesday,* October 24, 2000
7:00 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.
Koldus 111
Panelists include Former Students with degrees in the Life Sciences (including Biomedical Science,
Biology and Biochemistry) who have entered various professional fields.
Research (MD Anderson) Clinical Trials (Breco Research, Inc.)
Pharmaceutical Sales (Eli Lilly) Biotechnology (Sigma Genosys)
Management Consulting (Andersen Consulting) Lab Management (USDA)
Professional School (TAMUHSC College of Medicine)
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Temp-to-Perm Placement: Your Key to the
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Wednesday, October 25,2000
5:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.
Room 410 Rudder
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Career Opportunities in the Field of
Biotechnology
Wednesday, October 25, 2000
7:00 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.
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