List of Events in NHGRI History - 2004

2004

• January 7, 2004 – The National Human Genome Research Institute announces that the first draft version of the honey bee genome sequence has been deposited into free public databases.
• January 26, 2004 – The National Human Genome Research Institute and other scientists successfully create transgenic animals using sperm genetically modified and grown in a laboratory dish, an achievement with implications for wide ranging research, from developmental biology to gene therapy. The study was published in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
• February 3, 2004 – The Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center (GARD), established by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and NIH Office of Rare Diseases (ORD), announces it has expanded its efforts to enable healthcare workers, patients and families who speak Spanish to take advantage of its free services.
• February 25, 2004 – The National Human Genome Research Institute's (NHGRI) Large-Scale Sequencing Research Network announces it will begin sequencing the genome of the first marsupial, the gray short-tailed South American opossum, and more than a dozen other model organisms to further advance our understanding of the human genome.
• March 1, 2004 – The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) announces that the first draft version of the chicken genome sequence has been deposited into free public databases.
• March 11, 2004 – National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and other scientists find variants in a gene that may predispose people to type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease. Findings are reported in the April issue of Diabetes.
• March 24, 2004 – The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) announces that the International Sequencing Consortium has launched a free online resource, where scientists and the public can view the latest information on sequencing projects for animal, plant and eukaryotic genomes.
• March 31, 2004 – The International Rat Genome Sequencing Project Consortium announces the publication of a high-quality draft sequence of the rat genome. Findings are reported in the April 1 issue of Nature.
• June 8, 2004 – The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and the Melbourne-based Australian Genome Research Facility Ltd. (AGRF) announces a partnership to sequence the genome of the tammar wallaby, a member of the kangaroo family.
• June 28, 2004 – The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) announces it has established two new Centers of Excellence in Genomic Science (CEGS) at Harvard Medical School in Boston and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.
• July 14, 2004 – The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) announces that the first draft version of the dog genome sequence has been deposited into free public databases.
• July 19, 2004 – The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) launches the NHGRI Policy and Legislative Database, an online resource that will enable researchers, health professionals and the general public to more easily locate information on laws and policies related to a wide array of genetic issues
• July 26, 2004 – National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) scientists and an interdisciplinary consortium of researchers from 11 universities and institutions discover a possible inherited component for lung cancer, a disease normally associated with external causes, such as cigarette smoking. Findings are reported in the online edition of the American Journal of Human Genetics.
• August 4, 2004 – The National Human Genome Research Institute's (NHGRI) Large-Scale Sequencing Research Network announces a comprehensive strategic plan to sequence 18 additional organisms, including the African savannah elephant, domestic cat and orangutan, to help interpret the human genome.
• August 31, 2004 – The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) launches four interdisciplinary Centers for Excellence in Ethical, Legal and Social Implications Research to address some of the most pressing ethical, legal and social questions raised by recent advances in genetic and genomic research.
• October 6, 2004 – The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) announces that the first draft version of the bovine genome sequence has been deposited into free public databases.
• October 14, 2004 – The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) awards more than $38 million in grants to develop new sequencing technologies to accomplish the near-term goal of sequencing a mammalian-sized genome for $100,000 and the longer-term challenge of sequencing an individual human genome for $1,000 or less.
• October 18, 2004 – The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) announces that two of its medical geneticists, Dr. Alan Edward Guttmacher and Dr. Robert Nussbaum, are elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.
• October 21, 2004 – The International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium, led in the United States by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and the Department of Energy (DOE) publishes its scientific description of the finished human genome sequence, reducing the estimated number of human protein-coding genes from 35,000 to only 20,000–25,000, a surprisingly low number for our species. Findings are reported in the October 21 issue of Nature.
• October 22, 2004 – The ENCODE Consortium publishes a paper in the October 22 issue of Science that sets forth the scientific rationale and strategy behind its quest to produce a comprehensive catalog of all parts of the human genome crucial to biological function.
• November 8, 2004 – The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) partners with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of the Surgeon General to launch a free computer program, My Family Health Portrait, which the public can use to record important family health information that may identify common diseases that run in families.
• December 8, 2004 – The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and the International Chicken Genome Sequencing Consortium announces the publication of an analysis comparing the chicken and human genomes. It is the first bird to have its genome sequenced and analyzed. Findings are reported in the December 9 issue of Nature.
• December 0, 2004 – The International HapMap Consortium announces the end of any restrictions on data generated by its effort to create a map of human genetic variation. As a result, all of the consortium's data are now completely available to the public, a move that will provide researchers with even easier access to tools for identifying genetic contributions to disease.