Archive Site Provided for Historical Purposes
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Human Genome Program
Human Genome News, January 1993; 4(5)
Human Genetics and Genome Analysis, a workshop planned and carried out by Jan Witkowski (Director, Banbury Center) and David Micklos and Mark Bloom (Director and Assistant Director, DNA Learning Center) was held December 6-9, 1992, at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) on Long Island, New York. The learning center is the world's first science center devoted entirely to public genetics education, and Banbury is the 45-acre site of conferences and courses on molecular biology and on aspects of the biological sciences that bear significant social implications. The workshop, the third in a series sponsored by the DOE Human Genome Program, combined the expertise of the two CSHL units.
This intimate, 24-person workshop was designed for nonscientists who interface with human genetics research and society. Participants from all over the United States included teachers and other educators, editors, writers, congressional and science museum staff, lawyers, physicians, medical ethicists, and representatives of state governments and genetic support groups. Their varied backgrounds and perspectives enriched the learning experience, and attendees agreed that the course would enable them to better understand and represent scientific data.
The three workshop components were as follows:
Concept Seminars. Lectures presented by Banbury and DNA Learning Center staff introduced key concepts fundamental to human genome analysis. Micklos and Witkowski spoke on the Mendelian and modern views of the gene, respectively. Bloom explained how genes are cloned, and Witkowski discussed DNA diagnosis of human genetic diseases.
Feature Seminars. Seminars by working scientists provided insight into the research process. Nancy Press (University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center) spoke on population screening for genetic diseases; Patricia Ward (Baylor College of Medicine) discussed human genetic disease counseling; Kenneth Culver (NIH) described the first human gene therapy trials; and Ronald Davis (Beckman Neuroscience Center, CSHL) spoke of searching for the genetic basis of learning and memory.
Laboratory Work. Hands-on experiments provided direct experience with key techniques of gene analysis:
The final workshop of the series was scheduled for February 4-7.
Contact:
Reported by Anne Adamson and Judy Wyrick
HGMIS, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
The electronic form of the newsletter may be cited in the following style:
Human Genome Program, U.S. Department of Energy, Human Genome News (v4n5).
The Human Genome Project (HGP) was an international 13-year effort, 1990 to 2003. Primary goals were to discover the complete set of human genes and make them accessible for further biological study, and determine the complete sequence of DNA bases in the human genome. See Timeline for more HGP history.
Published from 1989 until 2002, this newsletter facilitated HGP communication, helped prevent duplication of research effort, and informed persons interested in genome research.