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Global Update Indian Pediatrics 2001; 38: 439-440 |
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News in Brief |
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Medical history has just been written. The first draft of the sequence of the human genome was published in February simultaneously by rival groups in the journals Nature and Science. "The Human Genome Project" was the international collaborative work of 8 universities, while, Craig Venter founded his private company Celera Genomics after breaking away from the human genome project. The difference is that all the data of the human genome project is available on-line free, while Venter’s data is available for a price. But the data of the two groups is quite similar. Considering the complexity of the human animal, the number of genes described are abysmally low – somewhere in the range of 30,000-40,000 which is just double that of a most lowly animal such as the fruit fly. The reason probably lies in the fact that one gene codes for more than one protein. Further many of our genes are common to those of less complex organisms. For example, half of the genes, which nematodes have, and one fifth of those of the yeast are common to the human genome. This supports Darwin’s theory of the evolution of the species propounded 150 years ago. The other finding is of vast stretches of junk DNA in our genome which probably are relics of our genetic ancestry. These junk DNA have repetitive sequences whose secrets are yet to be unfolded. Scientists and pharmaceutical companies are gearing up for the post sequence era. Breakthroughs in understanding susceptibility to diseases and their subsequent pharmacological manipulation await us (eBMJ 17 February, 2001). Technology Bizarre is beautiful: At the cutting edge of science, the more bizarre the idea, the better it is. Nanomedicine envisages that millions of tiny robots will stream though our blood vessels, homing in on the diseased areas, diagnosing disease and activating therapeutic systems and bring back further data for the ‘macrodoctor’. Small steps in this area are on in various laboratories in the United States. One has been the development of nickel propellers, which can attach to the ATPase and rotate in response to ATP synthesis or hydrolysis. Another is the use of DNA with sticky ends, which can change shape. Also being investigated for homing in on cancerous cells and delivering anti-cancer drugs are dendrimers which are kinds of tree like polymers (The Lancet Interactive 10 March 2001). Scandal Not cricket: Seven pharmaceutical companies, which have a stranglehold on 90% of the vitamin market in USA and 70% worldwide, have been discovered to have fixed prices of vitamins. An Austrian court has fined 3 of these companies $26 million and issued stern notices. But whether the lure of the lucre can be suppressed is uncertain, considering that in May ‘99 an American court had fined them $500 million on similar charges, which is the highest ever penalty in an anti trust case (The Lancet Interactive, 10 March 2001). Gouri Rao Passi, World of Pediatric Surgery - www.pediat ricsurgery.net. This is a non-profit organization providing information on pediatric surgery. A good collection of videos of pediatric surgery procedures including those on laparoscopic surgery procedures can be viewed from this site. This website is maintained by a pediatric surgeon from the Johns Hopkins. Pediatric Emergency Care - www.pec-online.com. Pediatric emergency care is a bimonthly journal published by the Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins. Table of contents of current and past issues and abstracts can be viewed online free. International Birth Defects Information Systems - http://ibis-birthdefects.org. This organization disseminates web-based information for patients and professionals on birth defects, genetics and teratology. Concise information on various syndromes with accompanying images is classified from A to Z. The information includes detailed references on various syndromes with their links. The Perinatology Network - www.peri nato logy.com. This website contains a wealth of links on perinatology, including links to clinical calculators for calculating dosages and infusion rates, guidelines and protocols, journals, images, ultrasound images, telemedicine, teratogenic effects of chemicals and drugs, statistical databases, perinatology centers, genetic disorders, genetic centers and patient information. This is a good starting point for neonatologists and perinatologists to explore the World Wide Web. Indegene - www.indegene.com. Indegene as the name suggests is a comprehensive Indian medical portal. This Delhi based portal is modeled on the lines of medscape.com. As is the feature of other portals this site also contains a drug index, comprehensive daily medical news, bulletin boards, various specialty homepages including one on pediatrics, jobs, conference news, email, etc. They have a good collection of links to various medical journals from India. State of World’s Children - www.unicef.org/sowc01/ This yearly statistical database from the UNICEF contains information on the health of children from all over the world. Information on an exhaustive collection of health indices pertaining to children, including well illustrated graphs, interactive maps and videos and audio files of speeches have been included in this site. The full text of this report can be viewed and downloaded free of charge. This site also contains information on childcare including early childhood development. C. Vidyashankar, |
