The Global Genome Question

The Global Genome Question PDF Author: American Academy of Microbiology
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description

The Global Genome Question

The Global Genome Question PDF Author: American Academy of Microbiology
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description


The Global Genome Question

The Global Genome Question PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 24

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Book Description
A colloquium was convened in Longboat Key, Florida, in October 2002, by the American Academy of Microbiology to discuss the role of genomic techniques in microbiology research. Research professionals from both academia and industry met to discuss the current state of knowledge in microbial genomics. Unanswered questions that should drive future studies, technical challenges for applying genomics in microbial systems, and infrastructure and educational needs were discussed. Particular attention was focused on the great potential of genomic approaches to advance our understanding of microbial communities and ecosystems. Recommendations for activities that might promote and accelerate microbial genome science were identified and discussed. Microbiology has always advanced in tandem with new technologies. Beginning with the first observations of microscopic organisms with early microscopes in the 17th century, the tools and methods for studying microbes have continually evolved. Slowly at first, and now with startling speed, scientists have developed increasingly complex and informative tools for analyzing the functions, interactions, and diversity of microorganisms. Today, genomic technologies are revolutionizing microbiology. Genomics employs all or part of the genome to answer questions about an organism and represents a generic tool that can be used to dissect any or all living cells. In this report, the term ''genomics'' includes structural genomic methods that focus on the determination of genomic sequence and higher order structural features, as well as functional genomic methods, which focus on the activities and products encoded by the genome. To date, microbial genomics has largely been applied to individual, isolated microbial strains, with the results extrapolated to the wider world of microbial diversity. We are now presented with an opportune moment to move beyond studies of single isolates and to apply genome sciences directly to the study of microbial communities. It is now possible to adapt genomic tools and approaches to more realistic models of genome evolution and ecology involving natural microbial communities. Microbial communities are formed by organized groups of microbial species, each having different, often complementary functions or activities. In aggregate, the microbial community has emergent properties greater than the sum of its individual members. Outside the laboratory, virtually all microorganisms exist in complex assemblages, in which they exchange genetic material, nutrients, and biochemical signals with one another. While analysis of individual strains has been a highly profitable enterprise, greater strides can now be made by focusing attention on microbial communities. These are the entities that encompass the bulk of microbial interactions, evolutionary processes, and biogeochemical activities, with resulting immense impacts on human health and the entire planetary biosphere. The natural microbial world can be viewed as a landscape of genes and genome ecology, in which organisms exchange genetic information and co-evolve with one another, shaping themselves and the biosphere over time.

The Global Genome

The Global Genome PDF Author: Eugene Thacker
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262250306
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 450

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Book Description
How global biotechnology is redefining "life itself." In the age of global biotechnology, DNA can exist as biological material in a test tube, as a sequence in a computer database, and as economically valuable information in a patent. In The Global Genome, Eugene Thacker asks us to consider the relationship of these three entities and argues that—by their existence and their interrelationships—they are fundamentally redefining the notion of biological life itself. Biological science and the biotech industry are increasingly organized at a global level, in large part because of the use of the Internet in exchanging biological data. International genome sequencing efforts, genomic databases, the development of World Intellectual Property policies, and the "borderless" business of biotech are all evidence of the global intersections of biology and informatics—of genetic codes and computer codes. Thacker points out the internal tension in the very concept of biotechnology: the products are more "tech" than "bio," but the technology itself is fully biological, composed of the biomaterial labor of genes, proteins, cells, and tissues. Is biotechnology a technology at all, he asks, or is it a notion of "life itself" that is inseparable from its use in the biotech industry? The three sections of the book cover the three primary activities of biotechnology today: the encoding of biological materials into digital form—as in bioinformatics and genomics; its recoding in various ways—including the "biocolonialism" of mapping genetically isolated ethnic populations and the newly pervasive concern over "biological security"; and its decoding back into biological materiality—as in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Thacker moves easily from science to philosophy to political economics, enlivening his account with ideas from such thinkers as Georges Bataille, Georges Canguilhem, Michel Foucault, Antonio Negri, and Paul Virilio. The "global genome," says Thacker, makes it impossible to consider biotechnology without the context of globalism.

The Postgenomic Condition

The Postgenomic Condition PDF Author: Jenny Reardon
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022651045X
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
The postgenomic condition: an introduction -- The information of life or the life of information? -- Inclusion: can genomics be antiracist? -- Who represents the human genome? What is the human genome? -- Genomics for the people or the rise of the machines? -- Genomics for the 98 percent? -- The genomic open 2.0: the public v. the public -- Life on Third: knowledge and justice after the genome -- Epilogue

The New Science of Metagenomics

The New Science of Metagenomics PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309106761
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 170

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Book Description
Although we can't usually see them, microbes are essential for every part of human life-indeed all life on Earth. The emerging field of metagenomics offers a new way of exploring the microbial world that will transform modern microbiology and lead to practical applications in medicine, agriculture, alternative energy, environmental remediation, and many others areas. Metagenomics allows researchers to look at the genomes of all of the microbes in an environment at once, providing a "meta" view of the whole microbial community and the complex interactions within it. It's a quantum leap beyond traditional research techniques that rely on studying-one at a time-the few microbes that can be grown in the laboratory. At the request of the National Science Foundation, five Institutes of the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Energy, the National Research Council organized a committee to address the current state of metagenomics and identify obstacles current researchers are facing in order to determine how to best support the field and encourage its success. The New Science of Metagenomics recommends the establishment of a "Global Metagenomics Initiative" comprising a small number of large-scale metagenomics projects as well as many medium- and small-scale projects to advance the technology and develop the standard practices needed to advance the field. The report also addresses database needs, methodological challenges, and the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in supporting this new field.

Human Genome Editing

Human Genome Editing PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309452880
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 329

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Book Description
Genome editing is a powerful new tool for making precise alterations to an organism's genetic material. Recent scientific advances have made genome editing more efficient, precise, and flexible than ever before. These advances have spurred an explosion of interest from around the globe in the possible ways in which genome editing can improve human health. The speed at which these technologies are being developed and applied has led many policymakers and stakeholders to express concern about whether appropriate systems are in place to govern these technologies and how and when the public should be engaged in these decisions. Human Genome Editing considers important questions about the human application of genome editing including: balancing potential benefits with unintended risks, governing the use of genome editing, incorporating societal values into clinical applications and policy decisions, and respecting the inevitable differences across nations and cultures that will shape how and whether to use these new technologies. This report proposes criteria for heritable germline editing, provides conclusions on the crucial need for public education and engagement, and presents 7 general principles for the governance of human genome editing.

The Global Genome Question

The Global Genome Question PDF Author: American Academy of Microbiology
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 24

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Book Description


Review of the Department of Energy's Genomics: GTL Program

Review of the Department of Energy's Genomics: GTL Program PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309180716
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 102

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Book Description
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) promotes scientific and technological innovation to advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States. Recognizing the potential of microorganisms to offer new energy alternatives and remediate environmental contamination, DOE initiated the Genomes to Life program, now called Genomics: GTL, in 2000. The program aims to develop a predictive understanding of microbial systems that can be used to engineer systems for bioenergy production and environmental remediation, and to understand carbon cycling and sequestration. This report provides an evaluation of the program and its infrastructure plan. Overall, the report finds that GTL's research has resulted in and promises to deliver many more scientific advancements that contribute to the achievement of DOE's goals. However, the DOE's current plan for building four independent facilities for protein production, molecular imaging, proteome analysis, and systems biology sequentially may not be the most cost-effective, efficient, and scientifically optimal way to provide this infrastructure. As an alternative, the report suggests constructing up to four institute-like facilities, each of which integrates the capabilities of all four of the originally planned facility types and focuses on one or two of DOE's mission goals. The alternative infrastructure plan could have an especially high ratio of scientific benefit to cost because the need for technology will be directly tied to the biology goals of the program.

Heritable Human Genome Editing

Heritable Human Genome Editing PDF Author: The Royal Society
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309671132
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 239

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Book Description
Heritable human genome editing - making changes to the genetic material of eggs, sperm, or any cells that lead to their development, including the cells of early embryos, and establishing a pregnancy - raises not only scientific and medical considerations but also a host of ethical, moral, and societal issues. Human embryos whose genomes have been edited should not be used to create a pregnancy until it is established that precise genomic changes can be made reliably and without introducing undesired changes - criteria that have not yet been met, says Heritable Human Genome Editing. From an international commission of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the U.K.'s Royal Society, the report considers potential benefits, harms, and uncertainties associated with genome editing technologies and defines a translational pathway from rigorous preclinical research to initial clinical uses, should a country decide to permit such uses. The report specifies stringent preclinical and clinical requirements for establishing safety and efficacy, and for undertaking long-term monitoring of outcomes. Extensive national and international dialogue is needed before any country decides whether to permit clinical use of this technology, according to the report, which identifies essential elements of national and international scientific governance and oversight.

The Global Genome

The Global Genome PDF Author: Eugene Thacker
Publisher: MIT Press (MA)
ISBN: 9780262701167
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
How global biotechnology is redefining "life itself."