03.21.03

Genomes to Life program will help unlock the mystery of how cells work

Potential $250 million investment in Washington state biotech research

WASHINGTON, DC – The Genomes to Life Act, introduced in the U.S. Senate today, will provide funds for national research laboratories and universities, each with different but complementary functions in determining how cells work. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)'s scientific research and development successes makes it a natural fit for one of the four genome research laboratories in the bill, a potential $250 million investment in Washington state.

Senators Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) were joined by Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) in introducing the bill and are on key committees to consider it.

"The Genomes to Life program holds the potential to dramatically improve our understanding of the science of life," Cantwell said. "The implications for this research are enormous in the fields of energy, environment, and medicine. The Genomes to Life program could inject $250 million into Washington's economy and solidify our position as a biotech leader."

"Even as we can see today that the benefits to mankind from the genome project will be immense, we also are nowhere near the point of fully utilizing the treasure trove of information in these maps. We have a map, but aren't quite sure exactly how that map corresponds to reality," Domenici said. "With the Genomes to Life program, and its companion programs at the NIH, we'll finally be in a position to understand how genomic information can be used to benefit mankind."

The Genomes to Life Act is a $1.4 billion investment in research and in four state of the art facilities that will have leading edge equipment and the next generation of computers to map and model the complex interactions of cells as American scientists strive to answer the fundamental question of "How do cells work?" The Genomes to Life Act sets out an aggressive path for the Department of Energy, to make this a high priority for the Office of Science.

This research is possible because the Human Genome Project mapped the approximately 30,000 to 35,000 human genes (the human genome), making them accessible for further study, and determined the complete sequence of the three billion DNA subunits (bases).

A significant component of the Human Genome Project has been the transfer of technology to the private sector, which has catalyzed the multi-billion dollar U.S. biotechnology industry and fostered the development of new medical applications.

Washington state has over 190 biotechnology companies employing more than 11,000 people. In 2001, the annual revenue of these companies exceeded $1.2 billion. Nearly one half of these companies were based on technologies developed at research and development institutions, like PNNL, and over 40 percent of the companies have been established in the past six years.

"The United States must continue to invest in scientific research to maintain our superiority in the world," Cantwell said. "This short-term investment will pay long-term dividends to our health, our security, and to our economy."

Key facts:

A genome is an organism's complete set of DNA. Genomes vary widely in size: the smallest known genome for a free-living organism (a bacterium) contains about 600,000 DNA base pairs, while human genomes have some 3 billion. Except for mature red blood cells, all human cells contain a complete genome.

The Human Genome Project is an international project that formally begun in October 1990. The project was planned to last 15 years, but rapid technological advances accelerated the expected completion date to 2003.

The Genomes to Life program funds research fields that will combine the disciplines of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, and advanced computational and mathematical modeling.

Senators Domenici, Cantwell, Murray, and Bingaman are on key Senate committees with jurisdiction over the Genomes to Life Act:

Senator Domenici – the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the chairmen of the Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee – laid the foundation for the Human Genome Project with legislation he first introduced in 1987. Senator Cantwell is a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Commerce Committee. Senator Murray is a member of the Appropriations Committee Senator Bingaman is the ranking member on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.