A Massive Search for Autism Genes Begins - odd statement by MIT's Mark Day

[Guest guest]

Mark Daly "

" ...for neuropsychiatric disorders, such as autism or schizophrenia,

where we don't know any of the genes or have any insight into the

causal basis of the disorder, uncovering even a single gene could be

transforming. "

Is he not reading medical literature? Is he presenting a model that

protects owners of toxin patents? Thimerosal patents?

* * * *

A Massive Search for Autism Genes Begins

New gene chips could finally bring clues to this complex disorder.

Source: Technology Review,

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17332 & ch=biotech

The hunt for the genetic basis of autism may soon be closing in on

its elusive target. Scientists at 11 Boston-area institutions,

including MIT and the Broad Institute, will use new tools to analyze

DNA samples from thousands of autistic people and their families. It

is expected to be the largest search to date for the genetic causes

of autism and may yield candidate genes in as little as six months.

" This project will allow us to study the genome with an unprecedented

level of detail, " says Mark Daly, a researcher at the Broad Institute

<http://www.broad.mit.edu/> who is participating in the project.

" Once we have an understanding of the genes and causal pathways

underlying the disease, we can focus research and development of

therapeutics for those genes. "

Scientists know that autism, which occurs in about one in 166

children, has a genetic component; siblings of autistic people have a

much higher chance of developing the disorder than the general

population. But the disease probably has a number of causes,

including environmental influences and multiple genes. As with other

complex genetic diseases, pinpointing the genes that increase risk

has been enormously difficult.

Previous studies have identified large regions of the genome that

appear to contain genetic variations linked to autism. That region

might contain hundreds of genes, however, and the limits of

DNA-analysis technology have made identifying the specific culprit a

challenge. In such situations, scientists usually make a guess based

on the known biology of the disease. " It's very frustrating, " says

Rudy Tanzi <http://adams.mgh.harvard.edu/cagn/faculty/tanzi.html>, a

neurologist at Harvard Medical School and a collaborator on the

project. " The odds are low that you've picked the right gene. "

But scientists can now scan the genome much more thoroughly using

newer varieties of gene chips, tiny glass slides coated with

particular sequences of DNA that can identify sequences in a sample

by binding to them. The latest chips can quickly detect more DNA

sequences than ever before -- hundreds of thousands of them at a

time. " Now we can find diamonds among the glass, " says Tanzi.

The new study will use a chip developed by Affymetrix

<http://www.affymetrix.com/>, a DNA-analysis company based in Santa

Clara, CA, that searches for 500,000 specific genetic variations, or

SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms), in a single experiment.

Scientists will analyze the DNA of 3,700 autistic people and their

families for SNPs that appear more frequently in those with the

disorder, compared with nonaffected participants in the study.

Because the chip detects so many SNPs, almost every one can be traced

to a location near or within a specific gene in the genome. " Each hit

can get you right to the gene of interest, " says Tanzi. " That's

really a quantum leap forward, like going from Little League to the

major leagues. "

As soon as the researchers find a candidate list of genes, which they

think could happen in as little as six months, they will make the data

publicly available, allowing other scientists to study the genes and

their role in autism. Experts expect the project to point toward

genes and pathways no one has ever considered in autism -- pathways

that, in fact, might lie at the root of the disorder.

Indeed, studies using advanced DNA chips have uncovered surprising

causes of other diseases. According to Daly, a similar study of

age-related macular degeneration (the leading cause of blindness in

people older than 55 in the United States) highlighted genes involved

in the function of the immune system rather than genes specific to the

eyes or brain. " The genetics led us to a biological pathway that

people had not been focused on, " says Daly. " It gives a foundation

that allows the research community to focus on what's really causal,

rather than simply an effect of the disease. "

Other planned or ongoing studies that use the new Affymetrix chip,

which went on the market last September, are targeting disorders

including diabetes, obesity, and Alzheimer's disease. Tanzi has

already completed initial analysis in Alzheimer's patients and

expects to have a list of candidate genes in a month.

So will these gene chips finally force complex genetic diseases to

surrender to DNA analysis? " I'm very confident we're going to find

genes associated with complex disorders, " says Daly. " I'm equally

confident we won't find all of them, maybe not even a majority. But

for neuropsychiatric disorders, such as autism or schizophrenia,

where we don't know any of the genes or have any insight into the

causal basis of the disorder, uncovering even a single gene could be

transforming. "

For those facing the daily mysteries of a disease like autism, that

is welcome news. " This is really on the cutting edge of technology, "

says Andy Shih, chief scientific officer at Autism Speaks, an

advocacy group based in New York City. " The fact that people are

willing to apply this technology to autism is exciting. "

*

The material in this post is distributed without

profit to those who have expressed a prior interest

in receiving the included information for research

and educational purposes.For more information go to:

http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html

http://oregon.uoregon.edu/~csundt/documents.htm

If you wish to use copyrighted material from this

email for purposes that go beyond 'fair use', you

must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

[Guest guest]

I wish would come forward and kick A$$ on these gene folks.

In my wildest dream, AS would replace Andy Shih with Dr Deth and Martha

Herbert.....

A Massive Search for Autism Genes Begins - odd

statement by MIT's Mark Day

Mark Daly "

" ...for neuropsychiatric disorders, such as autism or schizophrenia,

where we don't know any of the genes or have any insight into the

causal basis of the disorder, uncovering even a single gene could be

transforming. "

Is he not reading medical literature? Is he presenting a model that

protects owners of toxin patents? Thimerosal patents?

* * * *

A Massive Search for Autism Genes Begins

New gene chips could finally bring clues to this complex disorder.

Source: Technology Review,

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17332 & ch=biotech

The hunt for the genetic basis of autism may soon be closing in on

its elusive target. Scientists at 11 Boston-area institutions,

including MIT and the Broad Institute, will use new tools to analyze

DNA samples from thousands of autistic people and their families. It

is expected to be the largest search to date for the genetic causes

of autism and may yield candidate genes in as little as six months.

" This project will allow us to study the genome with an unprecedented

level of detail, " says Mark Daly, a researcher at the Broad Institute

<http://www.broad.mit.edu/> who is participating in the project.

" Once we have an understanding of the genes and causal pathways

underlying the disease, we can focus research and development of

therapeutics for those genes. "

Scientists know that autism, which occurs in about one in 166

children, has a genetic component; siblings of autistic people have a

much higher chance of developing the disorder than the general

population. But the disease probably has a number of causes,

including environmental influences and multiple genes. As with other

complex genetic diseases, pinpointing the genes that increase risk

has been enormously difficult.

Previous studies have identified large regions of the genome that

appear to contain genetic variations linked to autism. That region

might contain hundreds of genes, however, and the limits of

DNA-analysis technology have made identifying the specific culprit a

challenge. In such situations, scientists usually make a guess based

on the known biology of the disease. " It's very frustrating, " says

Rudy Tanzi <http://adams.mgh.harvard.edu/cagn/faculty/tanzi.html>, a

neurologist at Harvard Medical School and a collaborator on the

project. " The odds are low that you've picked the right gene. "

But scientists can now scan the genome much more thoroughly using

newer varieties of gene chips, tiny glass slides coated with

particular sequences of DNA that can identify sequences in a sample

by binding to them. The latest chips can quickly detect more DNA

sequences than ever before -- hundreds of thousands of them at a

time. " Now we can find diamonds among the glass, " says Tanzi.

The new study will use a chip developed by Affymetrix

<http://www.affymetrix.com/>, a DNA-analysis company based in Santa

Clara, CA, that searches for 500,000 specific genetic variations, or

SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms), in a single experiment.

Scientists will analyze the DNA of 3,700 autistic people and their

families for SNPs that appear more frequently in those with the

disorder, compared with nonaffected participants in the study.

Because the chip detects so many SNPs, almost every one can be traced

to a location near or within a specific gene in the genome. " Each hit

can get you right to the gene of interest, " says Tanzi. " That's

really a quantum leap forward, like going from Little League to the

major leagues. "

As soon as the researchers find a candidate list of genes, which they

think could happen in as little as six months, they will make the data

publicly available, allowing other scientists to study the genes and

their role in autism. Experts expect the project to point toward

genes and pathways no one has ever considered in autism -- pathways

that, in fact, might lie at the root of the disorder.

Indeed, studies using advanced DNA chips have uncovered surprising

causes of other diseases. According to Daly, a similar study of

age-related macular degeneration (the leading cause of blindness in

people older than 55 in the United States) highlighted genes involved

in the function of the immune system rather than genes specific to the

eyes or brain. " The genetics led us to a biological pathway that

people had not been focused on, " says Daly. " It gives a foundation

that allows the research community to focus on what's really causal,

rather than simply an effect of the disease. "

Other planned or ongoing studies that use the new Affymetrix chip,

which went on the market last September, are targeting disorders

including diabetes, obesity, and Alzheimer's disease. Tanzi has

already completed initial analysis in Alzheimer's patients and

expects to have a list of candidate genes in a month.

So will these gene chips finally force complex genetic diseases to

surrender to DNA analysis? " I'm very confident we're going to find

genes associated with complex disorders, " says Daly. " I'm equally

confident we won't find all of them, maybe not even a majority. But

for neuropsychiatric disorders, such as autism or schizophrenia,

where we don't know any of the genes or have any insight into the

causal basis of the disorder, uncovering even a single gene could be

transforming. "

For those facing the daily mysteries of a disease like autism, that

is welcome news. " This is really on the cutting edge of technology, "

says Andy Shih, chief scientific officer at Autism Speaks, an

advocacy group based in New York City. " The fact that people are

willing to apply this technology to autism is exciting. "

*

The material in this post is distributed without

profit to those who have expressed a prior interest

in receiving the included information for research

and educational purposes.For more information go to:

http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html

http://oregon.uoregon.edu/~csundt/documents.htm

If you wish to use copyrighted material from this

email for purposes that go beyond 'fair use', you

must obtain permission from the copyright owner.