CDC Science Ambassador Program: High school lesson plan topics related to public health genomics

• Family History
• Diabetes in the Family: A Case Study (60KB)
• Genetics
• Hereditary Blood Disorders
• Tracing the Cause of Hemophilia (86KB)
• Muscular Dystrophy
• A Walk in their Shoes (54KB)
  

Implications of Small Effect Sizes of Individual Genetic Variants on the Design and Interpretation of Genetic Association Studies of Complex Diseases (90KB)
John P. A. Ioannidis, Thomas A. Trikalinos and Muin J. Khoury

Familial risk assessment for early-onset coronary heart disease (219KB)
Scheuner MT, Whitworth WC, McGruder H, Yoon PW, Khoury MJ.
Genet Med. 2006 Aug;8(8):525-531

Expanding the definition of a positive family history for early-onset coronary heart disease (318KB)
Scheuner MT, Whitworth WC, McGruder H, Yoon PW, Khoury MJ.
Genet Med. 2006 Aug;8(8):491-501

• The following are headlines from on-line news articles published during the past week.
• The headlines and lead sentence are exactly as they appear in the popular press and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or recommendations of CDC.
• Free registration required for some articles. 
  

Featured item

“Emory scientists develop new map of genetic variation in human genome”  (Aug 10) EurekAlert! reports, “Emory University scientists have identified and created a map of more than 400,000 insertions and deletions (INDELs) in the human genome that signal a little-explored type of genetic difference among individuals.”

“First treatment for Hunter disease”
(Aug 16) News-Medical.Net reports, “An article reporting results from a pivotal clinical trial that helped gain U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the first treatment for Hunter disease has been published online by the journal Genetics in Medicine.”

“Findings shed new light on BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast-cancer gene mutations in older and African-American women” 
(Aug 15) News-Medical.Net reports, “A large, population-based, multicenter study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center provides the clearest picture yet of the prevalence and predictors of mutations in the breast-cancer susceptibility genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 among women in the general population.”

“Gene linked with schizophrenic development” 
(Aug 15) Physorg.com reports, “U.S. scientists say a gene related to brain development and function may play a casual role in schizophrenia development.”

“Researchers Discover a Unique Pattern of Gene Activity that Can Predict Liver Cancer Spread” 
(Aug 14) NIH News reports, “Researchers have found that a unique pattern of activity for genes in cells located in the tissue surrounding a liver tumor can accurately predict whether the cancer will spread to other parts of the liver or to other parts of the body.”

“Research to unleash gene therapy on arthritis” 
(Aug 14) Boston.com reports, “Within months, scientists will begin testing the first gene therapies for osteoarthritis, in search of a more effective treatment and perhaps a cure for the joint disease that afflicts more than 21 million Americans.”

“University of Washington researchers discover novel genomic disorders” 
(Aug 13) EurekAlert! reports, “NimbleGen's high-resolution array CGH pinpoints location of genomic aberrations causing mental retardation.”

“Remote control for human growth hormone gene expression” 
(Aug 11) EurekAlert! reports, “Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine recently discovered a novel mechanism that works over an extensive genomic distance and controls the expression of human growth hormone (hGH) in the pituitary gland.”

“Herceptin effective in breast cancer cells with low HER-2 levels” 
(Aug 10) EurekAlert! reports, “Northwestern University and Evanston Northwestern Healthcare researchers have discovered that the monoclonal antibody Herceptin (trastuzumab) used in combination with certain cancer chemotherapies effectively treats breast cancer tumors that produce low or undetectable amounts of the HER-2 oncogene but overexpress the growth factor heregulin (HRG), an activator of the HER-2 cancer oncoprotein. Increased levels of HER-2 are associated with poor patient prognosis, enhanced metastasis (cancer spread) and resistance to chemotherapy.”

“Study reveals how cells destroy faulty proteins in cystic fibrosis” 
(Aug 10) EurekAlert! reports, “The cellular system that degrades faulty proteins created by the cystic fibrosis gene has been identified by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientists.”

The Value of Molecular Haplotypes in a Family-Based Linkage Study
Gillanders EM, et al.
Am J Hum Genet 2006 Sep;79(3):458-68

Genomics of Acute Lung Injury
Flores C, et al.
Semin Respir Crit Care Med 2006 Aug;27(4):389-95

Multinomial logistic regression approach to haplotype association analysis in population-based case-control studies
Chen YH & Kao JT
BMC Genet 2006 Aug;7(1):43

DHCR7 mutation carrier rates and prevalence of the RSH/Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome: Where are the patients?
Nowaczyk MJ, et al.
Am J Med Genet A 2006 Aug

Genes and longevity: a genetic-demographic approach reveals sex- and age-specific gene effects not shown by the case-control approach (APOE and HSP70.1 loci)
Dato S, et al.
Biogerontology 2006 Jul

Genome-wide SNP association: identification of susceptibility alleles for osteoarthritis
Abel K, et al.
Autoimmun Rev 2006 Apr;5(4):258-63

ALTree: association detection and localization of susceptibility sites using haplotype phylogenetic trees
Bardel C, et al.
Bioinformatics 2006 Jun;22(11):1402-3

Trait components provide tools to dissect the genetic susceptibility of migraine
Anttila V, et al.
Am J Hum Genet 2006 Jul;79(1):85-99

Machine learning for detecting gene-gene interactions: a review
McKinney BA, et al.
Appl Bioinformatics 2006;5(2):77-88

High microsatellite and SNP genotyping success rates established in a large number of genomic DNA samples extracted from mouth swabs and genotypes
Min JL, et al.
Twin Res Hum Genet 2006 Aug;9(4):501-6

Pharmacoeconomic analyses of azathioprine, methotrexate and prospective pharmacogenetic testing for the management of inflammatory bowel disease
Priest VL, et al.
Pharmacoeconomics 2006;24(8):767-81

“$6.5 Million Gift to Establish Hereditary Cancer Center at Georgetown University” 
(Aug 15) EurekAlert! reports, “As scientists continue to uncover the lifestyle and genetic factors that play a role in who develops cancer, a newly established center at Georgetown University may help current and future patients better understand their own genetic risk.”

The influence of family history on breast cancer risk in women with biopsy-confirmed benign breast disease: results from the Nurses' Health Study
Collins LC, et al.
Cancer 2006 Aug

Family History Associated with Improved Functional Outcome following Ischemic Stroke
Stover Hertzberg V, et al.
Neuroepidemiology 2006 Aug;27(2):74-80

Paternal relatives and family history of breast cancer
Quillin JM, et al.
Am J Prev Med 2006 Sep;31(3):265-8

Case-control Study of Risk Factors for Lumbar Intervertebral Disc Herniation in Croatian Island Populations
Saftic R, et al.
Croat Med J 2006 Aug;47(4):593-600

“Genetic testing: what's so great about knowing your fate?” 
(Aug 15) The Independent reports, “Advances in genetic testing can help predict your chances of getting anything from cancer to heart disease.”
 
“Gene test for cancers could mean more effective, tailored-made treatment” 
(Aug 14) News-Medical.Net reports, “Scientists in the United States have developed a test which is able to predict which lung cancer tumours are most likely to recur.”

“Ask Science: Genetic Testing, Yes or No?” 
(Aug 11) The New York Times reports, “Denise Grady answered select reader questions regarding her column about genetic testing for diabetes from this week's Science Times.”

Optimal selection for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation testing using a combination of 'easy to apply' probability models
Bodmer D, et al.
Br J Cancer 2006 Aug

Screening for hemochromatosis: recommendation statement
Ann Intern Med 2006 Aug;145(3):204-8

A prospective study of the impact of genetic susceptibility testing for BRCA1/2 or HNPCC on family relationships
Oostrom IV, et al.
Psychooncology 2006 Aug

Articles that report on population prevalence of genotypes, gene-disease associations, gene-environment and gene-gene interactions and evaluation of genetic tests. For more information on HuGE, please visit the HuGENet™ home page

For the week ending August 16, 2006, there are HuGE articles in the following areas:

Infectious and Parasitic Diseases
Neoplasms
Endocrine, Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases
Diseases of the Blood and Blood-Forming Organs Disorders
Mental Disorders
Diseases of the Nervous System and Sense Organs
Diseases of the Circulatory System
Diseases of the Respiratory System
Diseases of the Digestive System
Diseases of the Genitourinary System
Complications of Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Puerperium
Diseases of the Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue
Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue
Congenital Anomalies

For more information on HuGE, please visit the HuGENet™ home page

All in the Family (124KB)
An Epidemiology Publication Of The Public Health Division Oregon Department Of Human Services

Public Health Genetics Unit, UK, Newsletter, August 2006 
The Public Health Genetics Unit (PHGU) of the United Kingdom (UK) aims to keep abreast of developments in molecular and clinical genetics, and in their ethical, legal, social and public health implications.

The Human Variome Project Meeting  
An international collaboration that aims to collect all genetic variations within the human genome in a freely accessible system, for use by researchers and health professionals to facilitate superior health care.