Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Developing a Federal Innovation Framework

Atlanta Conference on Science and Innovation Policy 2009This presentation was part of the session : Achieving National and Global GoalsThe National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), in the President's Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), formed an Interagency Task Group (ITG) in 2006 to develop a coordinated Federal approach to the science of science policy (SoSP) which could be utilized by the Federal Government, and the wider society in general, to make better research and development (R&D) management decisions. As part of this effort, the ITG is developing a draft Federal Innovation Framework which will help inform Federal policy for investing in R&D programs that will provide significant return to the American peoples. This presentation will discuss the work done to date, and provide an overview of the draft Federal Innovation Framework.Office of Science and Technology Policy; U.S. Department of Energy; National Science Foundatio

Preparing the Next Generation of Federal Leaders: Agency-Based Leadership Development Programs

The authors analyze the performance and efficaciousness of agency-based leadership development programs, which ensure that leaders understand trends affecting their jobs, such as risk management or cybersecurity; such programs prepare future leaders for the rigors of driving action across the federal government’s $4.4 trillion enterprise that touches the lives of all Americans daily. The depth and breadth of current agency leadership programs vary widely, inhibiting systematic development of tomorrow’s government leaders. The report explores five core topics: 1) factors that enable a sustainable agencybased leadership development program; 2) system-level challenges to creating and operating such programs; 3) training and development strategies that have had the most success in the federal government; 4) transferable lessons learned from exemplary agency programs; and 5) ways to demonstrate programmatic return-on-investment (ROI). The report underscores that federal organizations can mount successful leadership development programs, and that the effective practices they have identified provide excellent guides across all facets of the leadership development cycle—enabling government executives to tackle problems with fresh ideas and energy.LBJ School of Public Affair

Combined deletion of Lgr4 and Lgr5 impairs embryonic mouse development

Lgr4 and Lgr5 proteins are known markers of adult and embryonic tissue stem cells in various organs. However, the role of these proteins in propagating and maintaining individual tissue stem cell compartments is still controversial. While it was reported that Lgr4 is dispensable for normal embryonic gut development, Lgr4 deletion functionally impaired maintenance of the postnatal and adult intestinal crypt stem cell compartment. Furthermore, concomitant deletion of Lgr4 in Lgr5-null embryos was able to rescue their perinatal lethality, whereas combined deletion of Lgr4 and Lgr5 in adult mice exacerbated the latter phenotype, suggesting antagonistic or complementary functions of both receptors, respectively. While the effects of Lgr4 deletion during embryonic skin and kidney development have been reported, combined deletion of Lgr4 and Lgr5 has not been studied to date. To elucidate the functions of Lgr4 and Lgr5 during intestinal crypt development and to study their role in developing kidney and skin, we generated homozygous mice lacking either Lgr4 (Lgr4KO), Lgr5 (Lgr5KO) or both receptors (Lgr4/5dKO). Lgr4 deletion resulted in loss of Lgr5+ intestinal stem cells and impaired proliferation in the developing gut of E16.5 mice, a phenotype that was not further increased nor ameliorated by combined deletion of Lgr4 and Lgr5 (Lgr4/5dKO). In skin, E16.5 Lgr4KO and Lgr4/5dKO mice displayed impaired proliferation of basal cell progenitors accompanied by reduced epidermal thickness and reduced numbers of hair follicles. In contrast to E16.5 Lgr4KO mice, Lgr4/5dkO mice did neither show dilated kidney tubules nor cysts. However, E16.5 Lgr4/5dKO mice showed impaired kidney cell proliferation which was not observed in Lgr4KO mice. In summary, our data show that combined deletion of Lgr4 and Lgr5 impairs embryonic development with a dominant role of Lgr4 and support a complementary rather than an antagonistic function for both receptors

EU/U.S. Roadmap to measuring the results of investments in science: the Bellagio Statement: a report following the “EU/US Science of Science Policy” Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Workshop, 27 June – 30 June 2011

Public and private investments in science and technology (S&T) have significantly increased over the past decades in Europe and the United States. The results have been transformative – ushering in the telecommunications and internet revolutions; providing better access to food, water, and shelter; improving health care; combating environmental degradation and climate change; and helping to inform policies to promote social and economic security. It is essential that these investments continue to create value for the public. Indeed, national governments are increasingly asking complex and probing questions regarding the effects of their investments; they want transparency and accountability for the spending of taxpayers’ money; and they want their decisions regarding investments in science to be informed by data-driven analyses. Now more than ever before, the science community must explain and justify the spending on publicly-funded research. While it is clear that research pays off in general, there is great skepticism about both the marginal value of spending, and the chosen investment targets. There is a clear requirement to ensure greater effectiveness and efficiency in the use of public research funding; reduce the reporting burden on scientists; and to exploit the enormous analytical power generated by advances in information technology. Experts from the European Union and the United States met at the Rockefeller Foundation in Bellagio, Italy, to examine these issues. The task at hand should not be underestimated. Although the potential return from this work is enormous, the scale of the challenge of developing these new ideas into workable solutions for policy makers is also very significant. Despite the major strides already made in the U.S. through the National Science Foundation’s Science of Science and Innovation Policy (SciSIP) program and the interagency STAR METRICS program, a shared approach with other nations would certainly both accelerate progress and implementation. The purpose of the Bellagio conference was to explore the formation of a mutually beneficial multi-national collaboration in documenting the results of investments in science. The group believes science today is a global activity. Scientists and engineers collaborate across borders, move across borders and the benefits of their research know no borders. Expansion beyond current measurement systems could both broaden and deepen participation in science

Improving health conditions in conflict-affected Liberia: A community-based approach

Many countries receiving development assistance are in the midst of economic transitions and will become increasingly able to fund their own response. However, transitions to country owned, managed and eventually financed health programs require: political stewardship and commitment; institutional and community ownership; capable workforce, systems and institutions; and mutual accountability[1]. In support of these local efforts, donors (sponsors) are engaging with local organizations and governments to facilitate incremental improvements in governance, institutional capacity and formal/informal aspects of accountability. Given this trend, donor (sponsor) agencies are also rethinking their own internal organizational structures to allow for greater cross-sector collaboration. At the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the traditional independent sectors of health and democracy are collaborating to better understand how core competencies from each sector can, if combined, yield more sustainable development outcomes. This capstone builds on efforts taking place within USAID by bringing together students from the George Bush School of Government and Public Service and the School of Rural Public Health for a unique learning opportunity. Bringing students with different skill sets in health, such as epidemiologist or environmental science specialists, with others working on international relations, governance and foreign policy in one capstone course will create a dynamic group that can help collect evidence with mixed methods and perspectives