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Spring 2000 FrontierMAGAZINE OF THE COLLEGE OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCESs Inside New degree program Genomics takes off … merges life sciences, health, and law … and controversy escalates. U scientists discuss U researcher goes to the ends of the earth the issues and the promise of this new science. to study seals FrontiersSP2000 1 4/7/00, 4:01 PM From the dean UNTIL RECENTLY, GENOMES HAVE BEEN UNSUNG HEROES, QUIETLY orchestrating life within every living organism. Now that we know a little bit John Noltner about them, they are the front-page story in the New York Times, the object of protests at the state capitol, the subject of a joint press release from Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, the cause of dramatic up- and downturns in the NASDAQ, and the heart and soul of the next few decades of biological research. Why all the clamor? Part of it is due to misunderstanding. The in Pittsburgh. This meeting made the front brand new science of genomics is confused page of the Pioneer Press, the New York Times, with genetic engineering by many, especially and Science with the news that the fruit fly with respect to the plants we consume as genome had been completely sequenced. food. At the same time, genomics is sure to This is rocket science! This is the biological enhance the field of genetic engineering— equivalent of landing on the moon. Unfor- Dean Robert Elde and there are many legitimate concerns about tunately, the general public doesn’t under- the safety and risk/benefit ratio of various stand genomics any more than the science genetically modified organisms (GMOs). that led to lunar landings. While exploring A recent New York Times article by Andrew outer space is viewed as adventurous, explor- Pollack likened the GMO situation to ing the very basis of life—and the power that nuclear power. In a sense, the nuclear power knowledge lends to modifying living organ- industry was its own worst enemy, imple- isms—is often viewed as frightening. menting the technology before adequate safe- While the concerns about possible applica- guards could be employed—hence Three tions are valid, I feel it is my responsibility to Mile Island and Chernobyl. To date, society make sure our faculty are not genomics-less. has not benefited from the full promise that If the University is to be a top research insti- nuclear power brings in terms of relieving our tution, and if Minnesota is to continue to dependency on fossil fuels. Similarly, regard- compete in the global marketplace, we must ing the promise of genetically engineered embrace this basic science. We must give our crops, Pollack says, “Science has reached what faculty the tools they need to make discover- might be the takeoff stage for a new green ies, discoveries that will likely lead to benefi- revolution. But it may instead go the way of cial applications. At the same time, we must nuclear power—a once-promising technol- draw on all the University’s resources in law, ogy largely rejected by society.” public policy, environmental studies, public The lead article in this issue focuses on some health, agriculture, medicine, and biology to of the issues that surround GMOs—and on make sure that we don’t rush the technology some of the new research made possible by without adequate safeguards. genomics. Genomics—the curiosity-driven The way to ensure the safety of our future is science of finding out what genes make up a to keep access to discovery of new knowl- genome and how they function together— edge where it belongs: in public research in- brings unbridled excitement to the campus. stitutions that have the public interest as their Just yesterday, Professor Jeff Simon of genet- bottom line. ics, cell biology, and development blocked my jaywalking on Church Street with his Subaru. He was not making a citizen’s arrest, but wanted to relay the excitement of the “fly meeting”—the 41st Annual Drosophila Re- Robert Elde search Conference—that had just concluded Dean, College of Biological Sciences FrontiersSP2000 2 4/7/00, 4:01 PM Frontiers Contents Spring 2000 Volume 2 Number 2 2 From the dean Dean Genomics and U Robert Elde Editor Nancy Rowe 4 Genomics takes off Designer U faculty discuss the science— Elizabeth Longhurst and the issues—of genomics Advisers Kathryn Hanna, Associate Dean; Kathleen Peterson, Director, Scholar profile Office of Student Services; 9 Paul Germscheid, Alumni Relations Scholar-swimmer John Cahoy Coordinator; Janene Connelly, Development Director 10 Antarctic voyage Frontiers is published three times a year U researcher goes to the ends of the earth to study seals by the University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences for alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the college. It is 12 So you want to be a doctor and a lawyer available in alternative formats upon A new joint degree program streamlines the process for students request; please call 612-624-0774 or fax 612-624-2785. CBS news Address correspondence to: 14 Frontiers Editor College of Biological Sciences 123 Snyder Hall, 1475 Gortner Ave. 15 Microscopic evidence St. Paul, MN 55108 The CBS Imaging Center takes a very e-mail [email protected] close-up look at 2,000-year-old pottery For information on College of Biological Sciences programs and services, visit our 16 AlumNews Web site at cbs.umn.edu. The University of Minnesota is committed Alumni profile to the policy that all persons shall have 18 equal access to its programs, facilities, and Fostering a forest employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, disability, public assistance 19 Honor roll status, veteran status, or sexual orientation. The University’s mission, carried out on multiple campuses and throughout the Cover: The monarch butterfly is emblematic of the layers of controversy surrounding genomics. state, is threefold: research and discovery, Lab research showed that pollen from Bt corn (genetically modified to kill corn borers) can kill monarch larvae, and scientists are working to learn whether monarch larvae regularly teaching and learning, and outreach encounter Bt corn pollen in nature. In any case, unforeseen environmental results of geneti- and public service. cally modified organisms are an issue that must be addressed. Photo by Mike Quinn. Printed on recycled paper containing Cover DNA artwork from Principles of Genetics, by D. Peter Snustad, Michael J. Simmons, and John B. Jenkins, copyright © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reprinted by permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 20 percent post-consumer waste. FRONTIERS SPRING 2000 3 FrontiersSP2000 3 4/7/00, 4:02 PM Genetics at As the new science of genomics comes into itswarp spe own, controversy about applications is escalating. U researchers discuss the science and the issues. EARLY 30 YEARS AGO, containing genetically Rachel Carson ignited a firestorm engineered oats. of controversy with her book GMOs have become Silent Spring, in which she docu- the focal point for a debate Nmented the poisoning of birds, fish, mam- over some of society’s most mals, and other species from indiscriminate basic concerns: the contents pesticide use. Today a new flame, fueled by of its food supply and who the introduction of genetically modified controls it. Widespread organisms (GMOs), is throwing sparks to opposition to GMOs began the far points of the globe. At the same time, in Europe; the vehemence the basic science of genomics is coming into of European demands for its own. Now scientists and the public must bans on GMO foods sur- sort out thorny issues surrounding GMOs prised many people in the and their relation to genomics and its sister United States. But, says sciences. It’s an arena in which the Univer- Donald Wyse, executive sity of Minnesota, by virtue of its heavy director of the University’s investment in agriculture and life sciences, Minnesota Institute for is stepping into the spotlight. Sustainable Agriculture, Last fall the University received a $10 such feelings stem from lack million pledge from Cargill, Inc., to help of trust in institutions that build a new Microbial and Plant Genomics have regulated the food sys- Center on the St. Paul campus. At this writ- tem, fueled largely by ing, the University is seeking legislative Britain’s experience with bonding to complete the funding. Far from mad cow disease. the legislative halls, however, the battle has “The primary issue is already been joined. In January demonstra- the power structure control- tors from organic farming and environmen- ling the food system,” he tal organizations protested the University’s says. “While citizens weren’t John Noltner ties to seed companies in rural Rushford, looking, 70 percent of food Georgiana May, associate professor of plant biology came to contain GMOs.” GMOs have become the focal A prime question is Georgiana May, associate professor of plant biology point for a debate over some whether genetic engineering of organisms public university offers better hope for the should be done—and, if so, for what pur- completion of research into ecological or of society’s most basic con- poses. That raises the question of whether other effects of genetic engineering that may cerns: the contents of its food the University should strive to become a get short shrift in an enterprise primarily leader in genomics, which, though a basic concerned with profit. supply and who controls it. science, can yield information useful in “Industry is not charging into the prob- genetic engineering as well as in less contro- lems that will take 10 years to solve,” says Minn. And in the wee hours of February 9, versial applications such as traditional plant Georgiana May, an associate professor of vandals from the group Earth Liberation breeding or new drug development.