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The Director of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), Dr. Donald A.B. Lindberg, with the help of Dr. Rob Logan, has initiated a weekly podcast of pertinent medical topics related to NIH research programs. The topic last week was a discussion of a new vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV) associated with carcinoma of the cervix. Past topics have included a description of Tangier disease, discovered by a former Director of the NIH, Dr. Donald Frederickson, and new research funded by the NIH at Johns Hopkins University related to the role of stem cells in neurological disease.
Link to "Director's Comments" on www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/directorscomments.html
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Following the successful completion of the sequence of the Genome by the NIH's National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), Celera Genomics, and a consortium of hundreds of investigators in scores of laboratories throughout the world, the NHGRI initiated a new program called HapMap sequencing. An optimum set of 300,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was identified as a base for correlating mutations in these sites with specific disease processes. NCBI maintains the database of all SNP mutations. A recent report indicates that individuals homozygous for the risk allele of a complement factor H (CFH) polymorphism are 7.4 times more likely to get age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
www.hapmap.org |
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During 2005 and 2006 the National Library of Medicine has initiated a Long Range Planning program, under the direction of two past chairmen of the Board of Regents, Dr. Thomas Detre of the University of Pittsburgh, and Dr. William Stead of Vanderbilt University. After an initial planning meeting, the committee was divided into four working groups addressing the following topics: NLM Resources and Infrastructure, NLM Health Information for Underserved and Diverse Populations, NLM Support for Clinical and Public Health Systems, and NLM Support for Genomic Science. A report is expected at the September meeting of the Board of Regents.
www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/plan/lrpdocs.html |
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