Status of ZEPLIN II and ZEPLIN IV study

Abstract We discribe the construction status of ZEPLIN II detector, a 30-kg two-phase discriminating xenon detector to be installed in Boulby Mine, UK, for the direct detection of WIMP dark matter. Both scintillation and ionization will be measure in order to discriminate the radioactive background. ZEPLIN-II will have very high radioactive-background rejection efficiency. We will also discuss the study of ton scale ZEPLIN IV. The ZEPLIN program is a collaborative work of UCLA, TAMU, UKMDMC, and CNR Torino, Italy

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

First report of anilinopyrimidine-resistant phenotypes in Botrytis cinerea on grapevines in Australia

Anilinopyrimidine-resistant phenotypes of Botrytis cinerea are recorded for the first time in Australian vineyards. The frequency of resistance among the 910 isolates obtained during 1997/98, 1999/2000 and 2000/01 was 0%, 12% and 4%, respectively. There were two resistant phenotypes and these were designated as low resistant (EC50 = 1.5 mg/L) and resistant (EC50 = 2.5 mg/L). Both the resistant phenotypes were found to possess multiple resistances to benomyl (benzimidazole) and iprodione (dicarboximide). It is considered that the frequency of anilinopyrimidine resistance observed currently in Australian vineyards does not pose any immediate risk in the use of pyrimethanil for management of Botrytis bunch rot