October 22, 2004, Hour One: Genetics Update / 'Sister Study' of Breast Cancer

Science Friday > Archives > 2004 > October > October 22, 2004:
Hour Two: Genetics Update / Breast Cancer 'Sister Study'

This week, a major study into the causes of breast cancer got under way. The study seeks to enlist the help of sisters of women with breast cancer in an effort to understand the interplay between genetic and other risk factors in the development of the disease. Ultimately, the researchers hope to enroll 50,000 sisters into the study. We'll talk with one of the researchers about the project and its goals. If you're interested in participating in the study, call toll-free 1-877-4SISTER (1-877-474-7837) or visit http://www.sisterstudy.org.

Then, we'll turn our attention to genetic science, and a revision to the results of the human genome sequencing project. This week, researchers reported more refined results from the human genome project, following up on the rough draft of the genome that was released several years ago. The results indicate that humans may have even fewer genes than originally thought -- an estimated just 20,000 to 25,000 genes, on the same scale as mice and pufferfish.

We'll talk about the work, how the pieces of the genome fit together, and what happens when some of the 'useless' DNA is removed from the genome of a mouse. The answer? Not very much, it appears. Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255 (3-4 Eastern).

Guests:
Dale Sandler
Principal Investigator, Sister Study
Chief, Epidemiology Branch
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
National Institutes of Health
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

*******************************************
Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, National Human Genome Research Institute
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, Maryland

Evan Eichler
Associate Professor, Genome Sciences
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington

Eddy Rubin
Director, U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
Berkeley, California

This segment produced by Karin Vergoth

Archived Audio:
sister study
listen in RealAudio format
listen in Windows Media format

genome
listen in RealAudio format
listen in Windows Media format
streaming audio help from NPR

Books/Articles Discussed:

(find books discussed on previous broadcasts)