Date	Source	Title	Summary
06.10.2001	New York Times	As Biotech Crops Multiply, Consumers Get Little Choice	"Despite persistent concerns about genetically modified crops, they are spreading so rapidly that it has become almost impossible for consumers to avoid them, agriculture experts say."
05.23.2001	Globe and Mail	Against the grain	The Canadian Wheat board is lobbying the Canadian government to deny Monsanto approval to grow and sell its genetically modified wheat as the corporate giant prepares to test its product in the field.
05.10.2001	Nature	An End to Procrastination?	The German position on human embryonic stem-cell research comes under review as the main grant-giving agency considers relaxing its stringent regulations at the same time as the government prepares to set up a national ethics council to advise government on issues relating to ethics.
05.08.2001	New York Times	As Horse Breeder, Cloning's a Long Shot	Dr. Ernest Bailey, a geneticist at the University of Kentucky believes that a cloned horse will not be as successful as the horse cloned without all of the benefits of that real horse.   Included in the “all” is the best training, nutrition and veterinary care, as well as embryonic development, something that cloning simply could not reproduce.
05.02.2001	New York Times	Academic Team Accuses Commercial Rival of Faulty Work on Genome	The rivalry between the two teams that decoded the human genome has erupted again, with some academic biologists contending that Celera, their commercial rival, used a method that failed and in fact relied on the academic consortium’s method to assemble its own version of the genome.  The dispute is important because it may settle whether the consortium’s or Celera’s method is the better way of decoding the genomes of other species.  Also, if Celera’s work was derivative, the consortium’s scientists would gather the prizes and glory for decoding the human genome.
03.30.2001	BBC News	An oath for scientists?	British scientist Sir John Sulston has called for a scientific equivalent of the Hippocratic oath. Any scientist who signed up to the code would have to promise, among other things, "to cause no harm and to be wholly truthful in their public pronouncements".
03.13.2001	New York Times	Alliance to Develop Diabetes Drugs	Abbott Laboratories and Millennium Pharmaceuticals said yesterday that they would pool their efforts to develop drugs and diagnostic tests for diabetes and obesity. The agreement, in which Abbott agreed to buy $250 million of Millennium's stock, is the latest alliance between a big pharmaceutical company and a genomics company.
02.15.2001	Nature	A physical map of the human genome	The human genome is by far the largest genome to be sequenced, and its size and complexity present many challenges for sequence assembly. The International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium constructed a map of the whole genome to enable the selection of clones for sequencing and for the accurate assembly of the genome sequence. Here we report the construction of the whole-genome bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) map and its integration with previous landmark maps and information from mapping efforts focused on specific chromosomal regions. We also describe the integration of sequence data with the map.
02.15.2001	Nature	A Genomic view of immunology	The outstanding problems facing immunology are whole system issues: curing allergic and autoimmune disease and developing vaccines to stimulate stronger immune responses against pathogenic organisms and cancer. The authors hope that the human genome sequence will reveal the molecular checks and balances that ensure both an effective immunogenic response against pathogenic microorganisms and a suitably tolerogenic response to self antigens and innocuous environmental antigens.
02.15.2001	Nature	And now for the proteome. . .	A group of top-level proteomics researchers has launched a global Human Proteome Organisation (HUPO). HUPO's founders see it as a post-genomic analogue of the Human Genome Organisation (HUGO). Its mission will be to increase awareness of, and support for, large-scale protein analysis, in scientific, political and financial circles.
01.18.2001	Nature	A viable herd of genetically uniform cattle	Inbreeding, which can lead to the loss of genetic variation or the accumulation of deleterious alleles, has been shown to reduce fitness in wild, zoo, laboratory and farmed animals. This article demonstrates that when combined with selection, inbreeding may purge deleterious alleles, resulting in a viable herd of cattle that is almost genetically uniform.
01.2001	Nature Biotech	Affymetrix license valid, rules court	A summary of the court battle between Affymetrix and OGT regarding the "Southern patents" that claim basic methods for manufacturing and commercializing high-density GeneChips using OGT technology. Also discussed is the virtual monopoly jointly held by these companies over the field in genotyping and certain diagnostic applications.
01.2001	Nature Biotech	Aventis to shed ag	The supervisory board of Aventis SA revealed plans in November to divest the agricultural business Aventis CropScience by the end of 2001 in order to focus on pharmaceuticals, which accounts for 75% of the parent business. The divestment may take the form of an IPO under the name "Agreva," but big players in the agrochemical market have shown interest in purchasing the division.
12.2000	Nature Biotech	Affymetrix infringes	[10 November 2000] A US federal jury declared that Affymetrix's GeneChip microarrays infringe upon patents held by Oxford Gene Technology Limited, but more trials will be necessary before damages can be properly determined.
12.2000	Nature Biotech	Avoiding Frankendrugs	Lessons learned from the public backlash on agbiotech experience and discussion on how to prevent a similar fate for health biotech. Most important among the preventative measures is the need to engage the public early on with education and an opportunity for deliberation. Examples of successful dialogue between industry and public, as well as current attempts to solicit public participation are briefly described.
12.19.2000	Washington Post (Washtech.com)	A Boon for Biotech	Biotech companies are looking at more ways to partner with other biotechs, rather than linking with pharmaceutical companies.
11.30.2000	Nature	Australians hunt for Tonga's disease genes	In an agreement brokered by the International Diabetes Institute, Autogen has won the right to search for links to disease in the gene pool of the Tonga’s 108,000 residents. Autogen's main interest is in finding links to diabetes and obesity, both of which are common on Tonga.
11.23.2000	Nature	Aventis gets short shrift over release of modified corn	The US government looks unlikely to bow to demands from Aventis that it temporarily approve the company's genetically modified StarLink corn for human consumption, following the inadvertent and embarrassing release of the strain into the food chain.
11.23.2000	Nature	. . . as German genomics gets cash windfall	A windfall of money raised by government sales of mobile-phone licences is set to provide a boost for post-genomics research in Germany. It will be spent over the next three years in building up a 'technology platform' comprising different high-throughput post-genomics technologies, and creating networks of university clinical researchers to use it.
11.10.2000	Washtech.com	Affymetrix Found to Have Infringed Patent	A federal jury on Friday found that biotechnology firm Affymetrix Inc. infringed an Oxford Gene Technology Ltd. patent for technology that quickly determines the activity of genes.
11.04.2000	Washington Post	AOL Barred From Microsoft Filing	A federal appeals court yesterday denied a request by America Online Inc. and three computer trade groups to file separate friend-of-the-court briefs in the Microsoft antitrust appeal. The court did, however, allow the filings of an obscure pro-Microsoft group and a Utah computer scientist.
11.2000	Nature	Awkward Inconsistencies of a Stem-Cell Rule	The US government's clever interpretation of the law lets stem-cell research proceed, but leaves it exposed to challenges. The guidelines allow federal funds for stem-cell research but not for the derivation of the cells themselves. They satisfy US researchers' immediate concerns, but they rest on fragile logic. Opponents of abortion correctly point out that the rules do not clarify existing laws against embryonic research, but rather circumvent them. Researchers on federal grants also worry that privately funded colleagues will gain an edge in experimental manipulation of stem cells which they derive for themselves. Reliance on the distinction between use and derivation leaves the future of the research uncertain, subject to the influence of politics and of the courts.
07.18.2000	New York Times	Agriculture Takes Its Turn in the Genome Spotlight	In a scientific first, and a coup for science in Brazil, a team of more than 200 researchers there has for the first time deciphered the complete DNA sequence of an organism that causes a plant disease. Scientists said xylella's genome has already begun teaching biologists lessons about how pathogens evolve and about the destruction they cause. By revealing exactly which proteins this bacterium enlists to build itself and live its life, the complete sequence has also begun pointing the way toward methods for curbing this particular strain of the bacterium that attacks orange trees.  The report contains surprises, including the presence of genes thought to be peculiar to animal pathogens and a complete lack of some genes thought to be essential to plant disease organisms.
07.04.2000	New York Times	Analyzing Proteins With X-Rays, Crystals and Some Luck	Protein shapes are usually determined by X-ray crystallography, a process that in some ways resembles a CAT scan. An X-ray is taken from multiple angles and a computer uses that data to calculate a three-dimensional image. However, the process has several steps and each one could fail.
06.15.2000	Globe and Mail	A new breed of superweed	An Alberta farmer planted 3 crops of genetically modified canola, each resistant to a different herbicide.  3 years later, when he wanted to change the fields to grow wheat, he found stray canola plants resistant to all 3 herbicides. shuffling of herbicides.  This is the first documented case of gene stacking in canola occurring without human intervention.