Archive Site Provided for Historical Purposes
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Human Genome Program
Human Genome News, January-March 1996; 7(5):3
Will Cover Human Genome Project's Impact on Other Fields
Now entering its seventh year of publication, Human Genome News will continue to serve as a prime source on all aspects of the Human Genome Project for the working scientist, the biomedical research community, medical professionals, bioethicists, educators, interested public, and disseminators of genetic information. Produced by the Human Genome Management Information System (HGMIS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the DOE Office of Health and Environmental Research (OHER), HGN will be published 4 to 5 times a year in hard copy and on the HGMIS WWW site.
| Human Genome News Domestic and Foreign Subscription Affiliations* |
|
|---|---|
| Academic or research | 8175 |
| Industry | 1590 |
| Government organizations | 964 |
| DOE laboratories | 327 |
| Press | 273 |
| Individuals/Miscellaneous | 251 |
| Libraries | 235 |
| Ethics | 151 |
| Genetic counseling | 139 |
| Scientific societies | 106 |
| Legal profession | 93 |
| Forensics | 8 |
| Law enforcement | 5 |
| Total number of subscribers | 12,317 |
*Current rate of subscription requests is about 200/month.
HGN is broadening its focus to include other research sponsored by the Health Effects and Life Sciences Research Division, Medical Applications and Biophysical Research Division, and Environmental Sciences Division of OHER. These programs directly impact progress and the practical uses of Human Genome Project data the "payoff" of research. They include the DOE Microbial Genome Initiative, which is a direct spin-off of the genome project, and programs in structural biology, computational structural biology, and molecular medicine. As in past issues, HGN will feature technical and general-interest articles and features covering national and international project news; ethical, legal, and social implications of genome data; development and transfer of the growing body of genome technologies; available resources; genome meeting and training calendars; and funding opportunities.
HGMIS staff members continuously monitor changes in direction of the international project and search for ways to strengthen newsletter content relevancy and other HGMIS services. Suggestions are welcome.
The three Web sites described below were selected recently by the McKinley Group's professional editorial team as "4-Star Sites," the highest rating achievable in the Magellan Internet directory.
HGMIS Site
Since November 1994 HGMIS has maintained the "Human Genome Project Information" Web site (/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/). The site contains searchable versions of HGN, goals of the U.S. Human Genome Project, abstracts from the DOE Santa Fe Contractor-Grantee workshops, DOE Human Genome Program reports, topic-specific pages, and numerous links to other sites. HGMIS is also collaborating with the Einstein Institute for Science, Health, and the Courts to establish and maintain a WWW site for the judicial genetics education project.
Virtual Library: Genetics
In June 1995 HGMIS staff assumed responsibility for maintaining and updating the Genetics section, Biosciences division, of the CERN Virtual Library. The site (https://public.ornl.gov/hgmis/genetics/) includes an organism index linking to other pertinent databases; information on the U.S. and international Human Genome Project; and links to research sites, human chromosome specific sites, Genome Database, and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man. Each month, about 8000 host computers access one or both HGMIS Web sites, and about 70,000 requests for information are received. According to the Alta Vista index of WWW links, more than 800 links connect to the HGMIS pages. (HGMIS contact: Sheryl Martin, martinsa@ornl.gov)
Primer in Adobe Acrobat
The 1992 DOE Primer on Molecular Genetics, which has been accessible on several WWW sites for about 2 years, is now available as an Adobe Acrobat (pdf) file on the HGMIS site (http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis/publicat/primer/primer.pdf). An Acrobat reader that retains original formatting and allows high-quality printing of graphics and text can be obtained via http://www.adobe.com/ under Free Software.
More than 33,000 hard copies of the primer have been distributed as a handout for genome centers; a resource for interdisciplinary staff training by companies that make products for researchers and consumers; and an educational tool for teachers and genetic counselors. Such organizations as high schools, universities, and medical schools use the primer for their first-year medical students and continuing-education curriculum. The hard-copy version is out of print, but a single photocopy is available from HGMIS. This primer is being revised, and HGMIS staff would appreciate suggestions for updates. (HGMIS contact: Denise Casey, caseydk@ornl.gov)
Betty Mansfield, Managing Editor of HGN, also moderates the BIOSCI Human Genome newsgroup. The newsgroup's purpose is to promote scientific discussion and distribution of information about the international Human Genome Project and to provide scientists with easy access to program administrators.
BIOSCI is a set of electronic communication forums the bionet USENET newsgroups and parallel e-mail lists that promote communication among professionals in the biological sciences (http://www.bio.net/). Users can access the various BIOSCI newsgroups through this WWW address. (To post a message: gnome-pr@net.bio.net or gnome-pr@daresbury.ac.uk)
Return to the Table of Contents
The electronic form of the newsletter may be cited in the following style:
Human Genome Program, U.S. Department of Energy, Human Genome News (v7n5).
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.
