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News Release Archive

2007

December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
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March
February
January

December

December 19, 2007: NIH Launches Human Microbiome Project
To better understand the role the astounding assortment of bacteria, fungi and other microbes play in human health and disease, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announces the official launch of the Human Microbiome Project. The human microbiome is the collective genomes of all microorganisms present in or on the human body.

November

November 7, 2007: Scientists Compare Twelve Fruit Fly Genomes
An international research consortium of scientists, supported by the National Human Genome Research Institute, announces publications comparing the genome sequences of 12 closely related fruit fly species, 10 of which were sequenced for the first time. The analyses identify thousands of novel genes and other functional elements in the insects' genomes, and describe how evolution has shaped the genomes of these important models for genetic research.

November 4, 2007: Study Identifies Novel Gene Alterations in Lung Cancer
An international team of scientists, supported in part by the National Human Genome Research Institute, announces that its systematic effort to map the genomic changes underlying lung cancer has uncovered a critical gene alteration not previously linked to any form of cancer.

October

October 25, 2007: Statement by Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. on the Retirement of James D. Watson
Dr. Collins responds to the retirement of James D. Watson from his position as chancellor for Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York.

October 17, 2007: Consortium Publishes Phase II Map of Human Genetic Variation
The International HapMap Consortium publishes analyses of its second-generation map of human genetic variation, which contains three times more markers than the initial version unveiled in 2005.

October 10, 2007: NHGRI Funds New Centers for Excellence in Ethical, Legal and Social Implications Research
The National Human Genome Research Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, announces the establishment of two new centers to address the most critical ethical, legal and social questions faced by researchers and patients involved in genetic and genomic research.

October 9, 2007: Researchers Expand Efforts to Explore Functional Landscape of the Human Genome
The National Human Genome Research Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, announces grants totaling more than $80 million over the next four years to expand the ENCyclopedia Of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project, which in its pilot phase yielded provocative new insights into the organization and function of the human genome.

October 1, 2007: Low Maternal Cholesterol Tied to Premature Birth
Pregnant women who have very low cholesterol may face a greater risk of delivering their babies prematurely than women with more moderate cholesterol levels, a team led by the National Human Genome Research Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, reports.

September

September 28, 2007: Genes Linked to Suicidal Thinking During Antidepressant Treatment
Specific variations in two genes are linked to suicidal thinking that sometimes occurs in people taking the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressants, according to a large study led by scientists at the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Mental Health.

September 20, 2007: Scientists Identify Cause of Job's Syndrome
The rare immunodeficiency disorder known as Job's syndrome is caused by a specific genetic mutation that both overstimulates and understimulates the human immune system, leading to harmful bacterial and fungal infections and the physical features characteristic of the syndrome, according to two independent groups of scientists, one from the National Institutes of Health and the other from the Tokyo Medical and Dental University.

September 4, 2007: Genes, Environment and Health Initiative Invests In Genetic Studies, Environmental Monitoring Technologies
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) selects the first projects to be funded as part of the Genes, Environment and Health Initiative (GEI), a unique collaboration between geneticists and environmental scientists.

August

August 20, 2007: NHGRI Funds Two Centers of Excellence in Genomic Science
The National Human Genome Research Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health announces grants expected to total approximately $30 million to establish one, new Center of Excellence in Genomic Science at the Dana Farber-Cancer Institute and continue its support of the center at Stanford University.

August 1, 2007: New Grants Bolster Efforts to Generate Faster and Cheaper Tools for DNA Sequencing
Looking ahead to a future in which each person's genome can be sequenced as a routine part of medical research and health care, the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), awards more than $15 million in grants to support development of innovative technologies with the potential to dramatically reduce the cost of DNA sequencing.

August 1, 2007: Success or Failure of Antidepressant Citalopram Predicted by Gene Variation
A variation in a gene called GRIK4 appears to make people with depression more likely to respond to the medication citalopram (Celexa) than are people without the variation, a study by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health, finds.

July

July 23, 2007: Novel Approach Targets an Inherited Disorder
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have identified three new classes of small molecules that may prove useful for treating Gaucher disease, an inherited disorder that disrupts a cell's ability to break down and dispose of certain cellular waste products. Reported in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

July 2, 2007: The Cancer Genome Atlas Awards Funds for Technology Development
As part of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) pilot project, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards eight two-year grants totaling $3.4 million to support the development of innovative technologies for exploring the genomic underpinnings of cancer.

June

June 27, 2007: NIH Awards Nearly $5 Million to Fund Knockout Mouse Repository
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announces it will provide $4.8 million to establish and support a repository for its Knockout Mouse Project. This award is the final component of a more than $50 million trans-NIH initiative to increase the availability of genetically altered mice and related materials.

June 13, 2007: New Findings Challenge Established Views on Human Genome
An international research consortium publishes a set of papers that promise to reshape our understanding of how the human genome functions. The findings challenge the traditional view of our genetic blueprint as a tidy collection of independent genes, pointing instead to a complex network in which genes, along with regulatory elements and other types of DNA sequences that do not code for proteins, interact in overlapping ways not yet fully understood.

June 1, 2007: Mouse Model Points to Possible New Strategy for Treating Rare Muscle Disease, Kidney Disorders
Based on clues provided by a study with transgenic mice, a research group at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), develops a strategy that will be tested as the first treatment for people with hereditary inclusion body myopathy (HIBM), a rare, degenerative muscle disease. In an unexpected finding, the research indicates that the approach also might benefit patients with certain kidney disorders.

May

May 14, 2007: Fly and Worm Models to Teach Researchers About Human Biology and Medicine
In an effort to understand every part of the genome needed for organisms to develop and thrive, the National Human Genome Research Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, announces the first grants in a four-year, $57 million scientific mission to identify all functional elements in the genomes of the fruit fly and round worm.

May 9, 2007: Researchers Publish First Marsupial Genome Sequence
An international team, led by researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announces the publication of the first genome of a marsupial, belonging to a South American species of opossum.

May 4, 2007: Study to Probe How Healthy Younger Adults Make Use of Genetic Tests
The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), parts of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), teams with Group Health Cooperative in Seattle and Henry Ford Health System in Detroit to launch a study to investigate the interest level of healthy, young adults in receiving genetic testing for eight common conditions called the Multiplex Initiative.

April

April 26, 2007: Researchers Identify New Genetic Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes
In the most comprehensive look at genetic risk factors for type 2 diabetes to date, a U.S.-Finnish team, working in close collaboration with two other groups, identifies at least four new genetic variants associated with increased risk of diabetes and confirmed existence of another six.

April 12, 2007: Analysis of Rhesus Monkey Genome Uncovers Genetic Differences With Humans, Chimps
An international consortium of researchers has published the genome sequence of the rhesus macaque monkey and aligned it with the chimpanzee and human genomes. Published April 13 in a special section of the journal Science, the analysis reveals that the three primate species share about 93 percent of their DNA, yet have some significant differences among their genes.

April 5, 2007: Researchers Identify Gene Involved in Dog Size
An international team led by researchers from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), identifies a genetic variant that is a major contributor to small size in dogs. The findings appear in the April 6, 2007 issue of the journal Science.

March

March 26, 2007: Fifth National DNA Day to Showcase Genomic Discoveries and Careers
The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), marks the fifth annual National DNA Day on April 25 with events aimed at building high school students' awareness of genetics and genomics.

February

February 7, 2007: Horse Genome Assembled
The first draft of the horse genome sequence has been deposited in public databases and is freely available for use by biomedical and veterinary researchers around the globe, leaders of the international Horse Genome Sequencing Project announce.

January

January 16, 2007: Scientists Find New Genetic Clue to Cause of Alzheimer's Disease
Variations in a gene known as SORL1 may be a factor in the development of late onset Alzheimer's disease, an international team of researchers has discovered. The genetic clue, which could lead to a better understanding of one cause of Alzheimer's, is reported in Nature Genetics online, Jan. 14, 2007, and was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health.

Last Updated: February 13, 2015

Last updated: February 13, 2015