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

Libraries in Larger Institutions of Higher Education

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Where Do High Tech Commercial Innovations Come From?

On February 19, 2004, Dr. Lewis Branscomb gave the Meredith and Kip Frey Lecture in Intellectual Property at Duke Law School. In his speech, Dr. Branscomb discussed various models for turning basic scientific inventions into high-tech innovations and highlighted the roles that universities, private investors, and intellectual property law play in each model. Dr. Branscomb concluded that this intermediary process is the most important step in getting high-tech innovations to market

Research and Innovation Policy : a Framework for Research-Based Industrial Policy in the United States

[fre] Sous l'Administration Clinton, le gouvernement américain a commencé à mettre l'accent sur des politiques visant à encourager l'innovation commerciale et les recherches servant de base d'appui. L'outil principal est le partenariat privé-public par lequel les agences de financement relient des laboratoires nationaux, des universités et des firmes privées. Le programme le plus explicite en ce sens est le Advanced Technology Program du Département Américain du Commerce. Ce programme suscite des débats idéologiques mais constituent une première tentative de réduction des risques associés au passage de l'idée fondée techniquement à l'innovation commerciale. [eng] Under the Clinton Administration, the U.S. government began to focus on economic policies to encourage commercial innovation and the research base to support it. The principle policy tool is public-private partnerships, through which government funding agencies link national laboratories, universities and private firms in pairs. The most explicit program for government support of research in commercial firms is the Advanced Technology Program of the U.S. Commerce Department. It has proved ideologically controversial in the U.S., but represents a first attempt to reduce the risks associated with the transition of a technology-based commercial idea to first market entry.

University of Illinois Library Programs

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Richard Branscomb and Lewis Branscomb papers, MSS.0205

Abstract: Diary, travel journals, and account book of Richard Edwin Branscomb (1902-1980), Methodist Minister from Guin, Alabama, and Condensed Minute Book for Presiding Elders of the Southern Methodist Episcopal Church belonging to Branscomb's father, Lewis Capers Branscomb (1865-1930).Scope and Content Note: This collection consists chiefly of materials relating to Methodist Minister Richard Edwin Branscomb (1902-1980), including his account book for the period 1922-24, two diaries or journals (with illustrations) of trips to Europe and the Middle East, 1926 and 1930, and what might be termed his "spiritual diary" for 1935. As an indicator of the contents of the last, the opening entry begins "I need more faith -- confidence that things which have not been accomplished may be done. Never fear tacking a job because it looks hard. Never fear prospect of failure. Worst failure is lack of faith and courage. Grateful for progress made in year 1934-." Along with these books are a miscellany of notes and papers, some of which record Branscomb's professional activities during late 1926 and part of 1927.The collection also includes a single item -- a Condensed Minute Book for the Use of Presiding Elders and Pastors of the Southern Methodist Episcopal Church -- belonging to Lewis Capers Branscomb (1865-1930), father of Richard Edwin Branscomb, and like his son a Methodist Minister. To the cover of this book, somebody, presumably R. E. Branscomb, affixed a note that states "His Last Quar[terly] Conf[erence] Record.Biographical/Historical Note: Lewis Capers Branscomb (1865-1930) was a prominent Methodist Minister in late nineteenth and early twentieth century Alabama. He was assigned to a variety of churches on the Wheeler circuit -- Bessemer, Decatur, Huntsville, St. John's Birmingham, Talladega district, Talladega station, and First Methodist Church, Birmingham. He also edited the Alabama Christian Advocate. Richard Edwin Branscomb (1902-1980) was one of six children born to Lewis Capers Branscomb and his second wife, Minne McGehee Branscomb. He too, was a Minister, in Guin, Alabama

Tenure for Professional Librarians on Appointment at Colleges and Universities

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