Genome

Scientists have published nearly the entire genome of the common rat, making it possible to compare it with the genetic maps of people and mice. The genome of the brown Norway rat -- which thrives everywhere from subways to cornfields -- is 5% smaller in volume than its human equivalent and slightly larger than that of the mouse. About 90% of its estimated 25,000 to 30,000 genes have counterparts in humans and mice. The research appeared in the current issue of the journal Nature.

Celera Genomics and the publicly funded Human Genome Project said Friday that they had finished making arrangements for a joint announcement on mapping the human genome. The two groups, which have sped to make a rough draft of the human DNA map, said they would make a joint announcement Monday in Washington. The U.S. Department of Energy, which has labs also involved in the public project, said it would join in the announcement.

Researchers have mapped the genome of the California purple sea urchin, a development that could advance genetic research into human diseases, according to a report published Friday in the journal Science. Sea urchins are popular research animals because they are easy to manipulate genetically and share 70% of their genes and proteins with humans, including those associated with muscular dystrophy and Huntington's disease, according to the study.

The National Human Genome Research Institute has selected the next group of organisms most likely to have their genomes sequenced as the efforts with humans, mice and rats approach completion. The organisms designated as priorities are chickens, chimpanzees, several species of fungi, a sea urchin, a microscopic animal commonly used in laboratory studies called Tetrahymena thermophila, and honeybees.

IBM Corp. and Incyte Genomics Inc. have agreed to combine their specialized software into a product companies can use to analyze the human genetic code for drug research. Terms weren't disclosed. Palo Alto, Calif.-based Incyte, a software and services company for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, will incorporate IBM's DiscoveryLink data-management software into its own related products.

Here's a look at some biotech companies involved in human genome research and the development of drugs. Most of the companies are unprofitable and many have generated scant sales, but the sector has stirred tremendous investor enthusiasm because of the potential for scientific breakthroughs. Even with their recent rebounds, many of the stocks have come way down from their spring peaks. Which stocks do some of the sector analysts like?

Genomic Health Inc. said Friday that Medicare had agreed to cover the company's test for determining whether a woman with early breast cancer is likely to be helped by chemotherapy, sending the company's shares up as much as 35%. Genomic rose $2.49, or 25%, to close at $12.44. Genomic Health said the contractor that administers Medicare programs in California had agreed to cover nearly all of the test's $3,460 list price.

Genome-wide tests, which attempt to deliver a snapshot of a person's DNA, have been in the news a lot in the last week or so -- from this report that the Pentagon might want to map the DNA of military personnel to recent research that indicates that genetic tests that are already on the market don't seem to influence consumer behavior a whole lot. Underlying any controversy about the wisdom or folly of delving into our genes to learn...

On Tuesday, two biotech companies announced that it would soon be possible to sequence the human genome -- each individual's complete DNA blueprint -- in about a day for around $1,000. On Wednesday, researchers at St. Jude Children's Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., and Washington University in St. Louis reported scientific results that hint at how this type of inexpensive genetic testing might help patients.   In one study, researchers sequenced the genomes of cancer cells from 12 St. Jude patients with early T-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia and discovered that genetically, the subtype had more in common with a different type of leukemia than with other acute lymphoblastic leukemias.

ABOUT THIS SERIES This is the second in a series of occasional articles that will examine how DNA evidence is transforming criminal justice. -- State crime lab analyst Kathryn Troyer was running tests on Arizona's DNA database when she stumbled across two felons with remarkably similar genetic profiles. The men matched at nine of the 13 locations on chromosomes, or loci, commonly used to distinguish people.