News Release Archive - 1997 & 1998

News Release Archives

1997 & 1998

	1998
	1997

1998

December 1998

International Genome Team Deciphers Genetic Instructions for a Complete Animal
Although several of them will fit on the head of a pin, the tiny roundworm, known by its scientific name as Caenorhabditis elegans, made it big today as Human Genome Project (HGP) researchers in the United States and Great Britain announced they have sequenced the animal's 97 million-base genome.

October 1998

NGHRI And The Smithsonian Institution Team Up To Create Campus On The Mall Lecture Series On Genetics
Researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute's (NHGRI) Division of Intramural Research (DIR) team up with the Smithsonian Institution to provide an inside look at the latest genetic research and an opportunity to learn about diagnostic and therapeutic techniques still on the scientific horizon.

NHGRI Scientists Develop Advanced Mouse Models Of Huntington Disease
Researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) report in the October issue of Nature Genetics the development of a better mouse model of Huntington's disease (HD).

September 1998

Parkinson's Gene Discovery May Implicate Brain's Protein Disposal System In Other Neurodegenerative Diseases
Researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), and their colleagues, identify another gene that causes Parkinson's disease. The finding bolsters their hypothesis that defects in a pathway for disposing of flawed proteins are responsible not only for Parkinson's, but for several other late-onset, neurodegenerative disorders.

Prostate Cancer Gene Mapped To X Chromosome
Researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) lead a major international collaborative research study to find the site of a gene for susceptibility to prostate cancer on the X chromosome. This is the first time a gene for a common type of cancer has been mapped to the X chromosome, one of the two chromosomes that determine sex in mammals.

Genome Project Leaders Announce Intent To Finish Sequencing the Human Genome Two Years Early
At a meeting of the federal Human Genome Project's main advisory body, project planners will present a new plan to finish the DNA sequence of the human genome by the end of year 2003, two years ahead of its original schedule.

August 1998

New Mouse Model Reveals Defect In Early Brain Development
Researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), using mouse models to investigate a devastating human brain disorder, demonstrate that reduced amounts of the gene responsible for this disorder radically disrupt very early brain development.

July 1998

New Tissue Chip To Illuminate the Cancer Development Process
Scientists at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), in collaboration with the University of Tampere in Finland and the University of Basel in Switzerland, are developing a new research tool they call the "tissue chip," which they expect will eventually help clinicians design such individual treatment plans.

New Mailing List For Genome Funding Opportunities
The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) has established a mailing list to disseminate announcements of interest to genome investigators. The primary purposes of this list are to announce NHGRI funding opportunities and to notify the community about new policies for NHGRI grantees. Subscription to the list is currently open.

Human Genome Sequencing Projects Receive Third Year of Funding
Seven research projects to spell out the human genetic instruction book have been extended for a third year to further refine strategies for completing the DNA sequence of the human. In the process, the group aims to spell out some 117 million of the 3 billion DNA "letters," or bases, that make up the human sequence and deposit the information in public databases.

May 1998

Statement By The National Institutes of Health On The Perkin-Elmer-TIGR DNA Sequencing Proposal
The recent announcement by Perkin-Elmer and The Institute for Genome Research (TIGR) of a new approach to DNA sequencing offers interesting opportunities for large-scale DNA sequencing. But it is not yet known what role the new technology will play over the long term in providing the publicly available, detailed "A-to-Z" instruction book ultimately promised by the Human Genome Project.

March 1998

Vice President Gore Calls For Legislation To Ban Genetic Discrimination
Vice President Al Gore announced that the Clinton Administration is calling for legislation to bar employers from discriminating against workers in hiring or promotion because of their genetic makeup.

February 1998

NIH Scientists Report Promising Gene Therapy In Aids Animal Model
Scientists at the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine demonstrate for the first time in a non-human primate that gene therapy works against viruses that destroy the immune system. Their work, which is published in the February1998 issue of Nature Medicine, may eventually benefit patients infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

NHGRI Researchers Use DNA Chip to Sequence Breast Cancer Gene Region in Chimps, Gorillas and Orangutans
Scientists at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) report they have used new DNA micro chip technology to analyze the structure of a significant gene region in several species of animals, including three of humanity's closest relatives: the chimpanzee, the gorilla and the orangutan.

January 1998

NIH Scientists Identify New Hirschsprung's Disease Gene
Researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) have identified another mutated gene that causes Hirschsprung's disease in laboratory mice.

1997

December 1997

Altered Gene Causes Pendred Syndrome: Finding Leads to Better Understanding of Deafness
Researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) identify an altered gene that causes Pendred Syndrome. The finding may lead to a better understanding of deafness.

October 1997

Task Force Makes Final Recommendations On U.S. Genetic Testing
A diverse group of scientists, health care professionals, business people, regulators, health insurers and consumers have concluded their two-year analysis of genetic testing in the United States with a published set of recommendations to help ensure such tests are safe and effective.

September 1997

NIH Researchers Report That Knockout of Mouse Gene Results in Unexpected Social and Behavioral Changes
National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) Researchers report that knockout of mouse gene results in unexpected social and behavioral changes.

August 1997

NIH Researchers Lead International Group in Identifying Gene for Familial Mediterranean Fever
National Insitutes of Health (NIH) Researchers lead an international group in identifying gene for familial Mediterranean fever.

New Gene May Intensify Breast Cancer Growth
Scientists at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) discover a gene that is pivotal to a crucial metabolic pathway linked to the growth and progression of human breast cancer. The gene appears to be expressed at abnormally high levels in tumor cells of most breast cancer patients, more than half of the cases examined so far.

July 1997

The Human Genome Project Completes the Map of Human Chromosome 7
Scientists at National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) report the completion of a physical map of human chromosome 7 as part of the Human Genome Project (HGP). This map, which accounts for about 5 percent of the human genome, has already contributed to the identification of genes associated with human genetic diseases, and is providing the necessary infrastructure for the systematic sequencing of the chromosome.

Health Insurance In The Age Of Genetics
Full text of the report on Health Insurance in the Age of Genetics delivered from Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala to President Bill Clinton.

NIH Scientists Identify Gene for Fatal Childhood Disorder, Niemann-Pick Type C
After decades of work, scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have identified a gene alteration associated with the fatal childhood cholesterol disorder Niemann-Pick type C (NPC).

Gene Finding May Lead to Better Understanding of Birth Defects
Gene finding by researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) may lead to better understanding birth defects human disorder.

June 1997

NIH Researchers Find First Parkinson's Disease Gene
Scientists at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have for the first time precisely identified a gene abnormality that causes some cases of Parkinson's disease.

May 1997

Three Breast Cancer Gene Alterations in Jewish Community Carry Increased Cancer Risk, But Lower Than in Previous Studies
Scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) show that three specific alterations in the breast cancer genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 are associated with an increased risk of breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers.

April 1997

NIH Team Discovers Endocrine Tumor Gene
Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) identifies a gene that can cause multiple benign tumors of the parathyroid and pituitary glands, as well as islet cell tumors leading to pancreatic cancer.

March 1997

Multi-Site Study Publishes Interim Follow-Up and Treatment Recommendations for People with Gene-Linked Colon and Breast Cancers
Two papers, products of the Cancer Genetics Studies Consortium led by the National Human Genome Research Institute, provide the first comprehensive survey of information about how to care for patients who carry genetic mutations that put them at high risk for colon, breast, and other cancers.

Government-Citizen Group Suggests Policies to Limit Genetic Discrimination in the Workplace
Government-Citizen Group Suggests Policies to Limit Genetic Discrimination in the Workplace.

January 1997

NIH and Johns Hopkins Establish a New Center to Study Genetic and Environmental Origins of Common Disorders
NIH and Johns Hopkins Establish a New Center to Study Genetic and Environmental Origins of Common Disorders.

Last Updated: February 13, 20125