Sequencing and Analysis of the Hydra Genome
Chapman, Kirkness et al., Nature
An international research collaboration reports their sequencing and analysis of the Hydra magnipapillata genome, and compare it to the genomes of several other organisms. "The Hydra genome has been shaped by bursts of transposable element expansion, horizontal gene transfer, trans-splicing, and simplification of gene structure and gene content that parallel simplification of the Hydra life cycle," the authors write. They team suggests that comparisons of the Hydra genome to the reported sequences of other animals have helped them to elucidate the evolution of several of the organism's characteristics.
AMP Lays Out Five 'Key' Points for US Gov't to Consider When Revamping Health-Care System
July 02, 2009
The Association for Molecular Pathology earlier this week released five "key principles" the federal government should keep in mind as it tries to revamp the nation’s health-care system.
Saying it "supports efforts to achieve comprehensive health-care reform," AMP is urging the government to "adopt measures that will strengthen the practice of laboratory medicine and the availability" of lab tests.
In a four-page statement, the group recommends that "all health plans" should cover clinical lab tests, particularly "preventive and early diagnostic services," and says tests "should be reimbursed in a manner commensurate with the added value and savings they contribute to health care delivery."
The recommendations also say that comparative effectiveness review practices "must include molecular-based laboratory tests," and that regulation of molecular-based lab tests "should be done in a balanced way that will allow progress and innovation in the field to continue and not place undue burdens on a currently well-regulated practice."
In a news release dated June 29 but issued today, AMP President Jan Nowak said the group “strongly supports comprehensive health care reform" and that "laboratory medicine has an indispensible role to play in making the health care system more efficient, in improving the quality of patient care, and in advancing the new era of personalized medicine.”
