Merry Christmas & Happy New Year - <norhavor Nor Dari yv Sovrp ?novnt ARPA Institute, ARÓA HIMNARG NEWSLETTER LRAPYR December 2010, Vol. 17 Tygdympyr 2010, : 17 Address: 18106 Miranda St., Tarzana, CA 91356, Tel: 818-453-0618 Analysis Research & Planning for Armenia Genomics is the high tech future in genetics that includes medical conditions is of utmost importance. Armenia gene cloning, gene discovery/characterization, gene and currently has no advanced DNA testing facilities. Lebanon, protein expression and characterization, oligonucleotide Georgia and Azerbaijan each have one, Turkey and Iran synthesis and DNA sequencing. Proteomics is a related have several, but Armenia has none. This is unacceptable. technology that involves protein separation and If Armenia is to become a viable and competitive economy characterization and high-resolution 2D gel in this highly competitive global market, we need to make electrophoresis. De-novo sequencing for protein and sure that it is equipped with the most advanced peptide mass spectrometry and gene expression analysis, technological facilities and has the necessary highly trained using Gene Chip technology with cDNA-based arrays also personnel. Hence, given the fact that DNA technology is require DNA technology. In addition, population genetics, one of the most widespread and useful technologies of the to determine the origin of species, as well as various future, Armenia should not lag behind in this arena. On the agricultural and other areas use DNA technology for contrary, Armenia should be the center of excellence, when research into new product development. DNA technology it comes to higher/advanced technologies, both in practical is also being applied to invent the future high power logic and in theoretical aspects of developments. gates. Thus, rather than encoding signals in high and low voltages, these genetic circuits encode signals in high and In a similar manner, Armenia being one of the most ancient low concentrations of short DNA molecules. The chemical countries of the world, with its numerous known and logic gates that perform the information processing are also unknown treasures of the past millennia of human history, DNA molecules, with each gate a carefully folded complex archeology, architecture and anthropology, etc., the world of multiple short DNA strands. Scientists have been able to should be able to see what Armenia has, how ancient it is construct gates that perform all the fundamental binary and how advanced a country it has been. That can be done logic operations, such as AND, OR, and NOT, the building through the use of modern technologies, the internet and blocks for constructing arbitrarily complex logic circuits. software technology. ARPA has also started another useful These new approaches could help enable a new generation program, whereby all the museum articles, national of technologies for embedding "intelligence" in chemical monuments, newly excavated treasures can be archived and systems for biomedical applications and bio-nano- presented to the world through a well designed and technology. developed program that makes watching the national treasures of Armenia a cinch. We are working with the The human genome can be best described as a 2.85-billion- Ministry of Culture, the Institute of Antiquities of the letter-long text written in the DNA language of living cells. National Academy of Sciences and the Museums of It uses four letters G, A, T, and C which are encrypted into Armenia to start on a unified approach towards the 64 possible triplet words called codons. This DNA based implementation of a universal program of archiving and language is used by all living organisms. The challenge is presenting all of our ancient treasures to the world. A the development of the technologies to use this information software engineer in Syria has developed such a program in a cost-effective manner. Genotyping methods are being for Syria. He will lead the effort placing his software on the improved in order to increase throughput by at least two disposal of Armenia. The program will be evaluated by our orders of magnitude to enable pharmaceutical, ARPA experts, who will develop a plan for its biotechnological and academic research to uncover implementation in coordination with the right associations between genetic variants and diseases. To institutions/bodies of Armenia. bring this innovative DNA sequencing and genetic screening capabilities to Armenia and train the right cadre If you can contribute in any of these projects please to allow the discovery of genetic aspects of thousands of contact ARPA Institute at [email protected]. Page 1 ARPA Institute Lecture Series' Summaries For Jan. differs from the generally accepted periodic 2010 to Dec. 2010, Held in the Merdinian Armenian characterization of Armenian history. It stresses two major Evangelical School Auditorium in Sherman Oaks, CA. aspects: the cyclical nature and the apparent gradual consolidation of Armenian identities. Further investigations 1. Gregory E. Areshian received his Ph.D. from the Saint- may confirm or disprove these findings. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad) Institute of Archaeology 2. Lucina Agbabian Hubbard has presented talks at of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. He directed the seminars and workshops on a wide range of topics related excavations of several archaeological sites and participated to the Armenian musical culture. She is adjunct instructor in other archaeological field projects in Armenia, Syria, at USC Thornton School of Music, was lecturer in the Georgia, Egypt, and Central Asia. He is the author of more Ethnomusicology Department at UCLA, in the Teachers’ than 130 publications mostly concerning Near Eastern, Training Program at La Verne University, and has been Armenian, and Caucasian history and archaeology from singer and artistic director in concerts of Armenian music Late Prehistory to the Modern times, and also social in diverse venues in North America. Her lecture was on theory. He authored and edited four books. Since 2007, he "Armenian Musical Culture in Retrospect". She outlined has co-directed the Dvin and Areni UCLA Joint Projects in the scope of creative contributions to the Armenian culture Armenia and continues to participate in the Mozan-Urkesh by the colorful gusan/ashughs and their vocal–instrumental Project in Syria. Dr. Areshian presented his lecture on performances; the intuitive improvisations on traditional "Amenian Identities In Ancient And Medieval Histories". folk songs of the Armenian peasants in the context of every He argued that identities are inseparably related to past day rituals; the rich yield of sacred music by monastic experiences of individuals and social groups: from families hymn composers of medieval centuries, and the daring and clans to nations. Reflecting the self-positioning of steps taken by contemporary composers in the people in specific broader socio-cultural contexts they are westernization process of the nation's music. Featured were hierarchical, dynamic, and an individual or social group the reciprocity between these diverse styles with musical may combine together components of different identities. examples and the role of the general public in the Nowadays philosophers studying this subject stress the Armenian musical culture. major distinction between identity at a time and identity 3. Jason Paul Kazarian received a B.Sc. in Computer across time. This distinction is especially salient across Science with a Mathematics Minor from California State other humanities and social sciences. A very large amount University, Dominguez Hills; and a M.Sc. in Computer of research is carried out on the subject of contemporary Science from the University of Texas at Dallas. His project identities but relatively few explore their historical areas include accounting, embedded systems, fund raising, transformations. Armenian Studies are not an exception. geographic information systems, medical databases, During the last two decades a substantial research effort message processing, navigation, software porting, real-time has been devoted to the study of modern Armenian identity systems, satellite control, simulation, telecommunications, and only a handful of works discussing its historical telemetry reduction, training, user interfaces, and web trajectory were published. The lecture discussed the causes marketing. Most recently, he was the Executive Director of of that disparity and the importance of a long-term an Information Technology training academy in Gyumri, perspective. It addressed the origins of Armenian identity Armenia. Jason presented a lecture on "Agriculture, and the sociopolitical, economic, linguistic, demographic, Education, Information-Technology: Critical Sectors For and territorial aspects of its formation and transformations. Armenia's Economy". Based on recent long-term work Special attention should be paid to the roles of social elites experience in the Republic of Armenia, a high-level in the construction of identities, yet the extreme examination of public and private efforts in the constructivist position must be rejected. Several agricultural, educational, and technological economic consecutive periods in the transformation of Armenian sectors was offered. For each sector, the current state and identity were identified and analyzed: (1) from the Early the foreseeable future state, and reflection on each sector's Iron Age (ca 1000 BC) to the end of the Post-Achaemenid unique challenges