Genetics and sustainability

Up to 300,000 people in Southern Africa could die in the next six months from hunger-related illnesses, according to Gro Brundtland, director of the World Health Organization. In stark contrast, as many people in the US will be diagnosed with diet-related type 2 diabetes over the same time period. This is but one example of the obvious disparity between the health needs of developing and developed worlds. To examine the role that science and technology can play in addressing such imbalances, representatives from the South African government and European Commission (EC) met at the Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development on 2–4 September—an event held in parallel with the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). A significant outcome of the meeting was the earmarking of ∈600 m from the EC's next four-year science and development budget (Framework Program 6) to fund collaborative scientific programs between developing countries and those in the European Union. As highlighted in this month's editorial (page 213) and a Commentary (page 229), genetics and genomics tools can help to combat the health problems of the developing world. At the same time, scientific knowledge can only benefit from international partnerships. Indeed, medical genetics has long benefited from such collaborations (see Kondo et al. on page 285 of this issue for example). Key to ensuring that the value of genomics is realized globally are the transfer of technologies from “the haves” to “the have-nots”, adequate training of scientists and cooperation among researchers to bridge the economic gulfs between nations. (Visit http://www.nature.com/nature/sustainabledevelopment/ to learn more about science, sustainability and the WSSD.)

Frog hops ahead

Frogs have been used in laboratory research for decades. One species in particular, the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis, is favored by developmental biologists. But it was its much smaller cousin, Xenopus tropicalis, that was selected for sequencing by scientists at the US Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek, California (http://www.jgi.doe.gov). Compared with X. laevis, X. tropicalis has many characteristics that make it attractive for sequencing: it develops to sexual maturity in one-third of the time (four to six months), its genome (1.7 GB) is about half the size and is believed to be diploid and it requires one-fifth of the housing space. At the US National Institutes of Health, the battle continues to win federal funds to sequence other organisms' genomes. To decide which ones should be sequenced next, the US National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) has asked members of the scientific community to submit proposals (ten-page white papers) explaining how the genome sequence of their favorite species could be used to prevent and treat human disease. The proposals are reviewed and ranked by a scientific research committee and ratified by the US National Council for Human Genome Research. Government-supported sequencing centers can then choose from organisms on the high-priority list. The NHGRI released the first group of high-priority organisms in May—the chicken, honeybee, chimpanzee, sea urchin, a protozoan and 15 fungal species. After its second round of deliberations, the NHGRI added the dog and the cow to the list of high-priority genomes.

Knowing your place

Credit: Photo courtesy of Thibaud Monnin

There are few, if any, urges in nature stronger than that of passing your genes on to the next generation. Female Brazilian dinosaur ants (Dinoponera quadriceps) have evolved an unusual mechanism to ensure that their alpha females can reproduce without interference from lower ranking females, according to a study in a recent issue of Nature (419, 61–65; 2002) by scientists at the University of Sheffield and the University of Keele. Dinosaur ants do not have the traditional ant social structure involving a queen. All female ants in the colony are capable of reproducing, but only the alpha female actually has the honors. Surrounded by three to five female gang members who aren't expected to share in the duties of a lowly worker, the alpha female reproduces as freely as a traditional queen. But not all of her gang are completely happy with the arrangement. When challenged by a potential usurper, the alpha female will smear the challenger with a concentrated hydrocarbon secretion that signals worker ants to surround the offending 'wanna-be' and hold her down for up to four days! Once she has gotten the idea that her leader is not to be trifled with, she is demoted to worker and released, losing membership in the pseudoroyal court.

Career advice

The Women in Cell Biology committee of the American Society of Cell Biology (ASCB) has compiled a series of articles from the ASCB Newsletter that were ranked by society members as providing the most helpful career advice for life scientists. The resulting booklet, titled Career Advice for Life Scientists, is available for free from the ASCB website at http://www.ascb.org/committees/ wicb/careeradvice.html. The topics covered are by no means comprehensive, but the book does provide practical advice on some important problems facing academic faculty, such as “How to Say No,” “Creative Mentoring Strategies,” “Earning Tenure” and “Designing Productive Lab Meetings.” Other articles touch on topics outside the day-to-day running of the lab, such as increasing underrepresented minorities in science, exploring different careers and balancing career and family.