The Behrend Beacon Study finds gene linked to alcoholism by Tina Hesman St. Louis Post-Dispatch Researchers at Washington Uni versity and five other centers have identified a gene that is associated with alcoholism in some families. The scientists, including Danielle M. Dick and Allison Goate of Wash ington University, are part of a 15- year research project known as the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism. A report published Thursday in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, shows that one version of the gene GABRG3 predisposes people to al coholism. It is the first study to link Spaceflights spurs debate over purpose, cost by Seth Borenstein Knight Ridder Newspapers When President Bush on Wednes day challenges the nation to send astronauts back to the moon and on to Mars, the big question is: Why? Proponents say exploring the un known is one of the soul's innermost desires. It's not what you'll find, they say, but the journey itself. It's about overcoming seemingly insurmount able obstacles. The reason not to go. opponents say, is more grounded in reality: money. Experts put the cost of the missions at around $2OO billion for a country already running record deficits. To make the commitment easier, Bush is expected to propose starting with an additional $4 billion over the next five years. Still, a clash is coming between r lap . I I I I IP 1110 I For a limited tlm•, first-time imam Save an additional 1 5 on purcheses of''SO or mom? Sim* use this code; • PSUERIE Or ow am ENS /DV MI 1110 Mb NO Olt . comr , 41.1 tt'AMle Pt.r.o% `,;$lX 't 4 .404~ 0.4 ewe , the gene to dependence on alcohol Earlier studies of twins indicates that at least one-third of the suscepti bility to alcoholism is due to genetic factors, said William True of St. Louis University. True conducted some of the twin studies. The new study takes previous ge netic research a step further, and will direct other researchers to take a look at how this particular gene reacts to alcohol and how it influences the pro pensity to alcoholism, True said. The researchers collected DNA samples from 2,282 people from 282 families heavily affected by alcohol ism and identified several regions of chromosomes that were shared be tween alcoholics in the families. For this study, Dick and her colleagues people moved by balance sheets and by adventure epics and sometimes by both. "The main driver for why we would go to the moon and on to Mars is not the science, it's exploration," said Rice University professor Neal Lane, who was President Clinton's science adviser and director of the National Science Foundation. "It stirs the soul." But when Lane considered the costs, he hedged: "I don't know if we can af ford it." American University public policy professor Howard McCurdy, author of the hook "Space in the American Imagination," compared the choice to "buying a boat. There's half of you that says I want to do this.' The person on the other side of your shoulder says Let's get real.'" The president is seeking a "Kennedy moment," something to inspire the Retail !ski, I , e4y Is 4 miry k.'Nel Na P61.14!"44.* Of ANY Mit AN fights tempera& *iimisiork MAW Poiftot • Now TearitoeS botool dapti $Ol6 , Fl.o4 , 4lCorts 'rt>o 4o .2 , Otto Tb.. A 514.141,144 Wok i i ko m i k v. nom * amigo • :. 1,400,5t:0r, Pis , ,ome , r, , m, ihwalwit 1401 tom Prim for Mmar tas*trallirthiNft amid 010 tnAllO2OlO9OO OO 4 61 w 7OW AirAhr." 4 " 14 " 14**1 "'"' i " v * -44 ** , P 001 49 " 10 # 0686,1, 4 an , 4, 0 t 4 6 * *1 lea terws44 , to* lunar am* oftv. 4404404 1110000.4) ow! 6.14111.4; *Me *MAN ft 41414104 firtAftragirpo , ***how g 0,04 igtri OfttitAL CAMPUS titirti; Natural selection. How smart is this: Ali the textbooks you need for up to 50% off retail prices. New or used, all you have to do is go to half.com and type in the book tides, or ISBN numbers. Then let nature take its course. Friday, January 16, 2004 focused on a region of chromosome 15 that contains several genes in volved in the movement of a brain chemical called Gamma-amino bu tyric acid, or GABA, between neu rons. In other experiments, the chemi cal seemed to modulate the effects alcohol has on the brain, Dick said. When scientists stimulated GABA receptors in the brains of mice and then fed them alcohol, the mice were more uncoordinated and drank more than mice who only drank alcohol. Shutting down the activity of the GABA receptors had the opposite effect. Scientists don't yet understand how the chemical works on brain cells. Those results encouraged the re- American public, said John Logsdon, space policy director at George Wash ington University and a member of the independent board that examined last year's space shuttle Columbia explo sion. He is tapping into a classic Kennedy moment from a 1962 speech: "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not be cause they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills," Kennedy said. Bush hinted at that Tuesday in Monterrey, Mexico, saying his plan will be about "seeking new horizons." Unlike the competitive Cold War race for the moon, Bush's proposal is more a matter of reaching within, said Gerry Griffin, a former director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston. "Are we up to it?" Griffin asked. Establishing a permanent moon searchers to take a closer look at three GABA receptor genes on chro mosome 15. Genetic and statistical analysis of those genes showed that only one of them, GABRG3, is linked to alcoholism in the affected families. The researchers don't yet know how changes in the gene increase the risk of alcoholism, Dick said. She said she expects that one version of the gene may interact with other genes to determine whether a person is likely to become alcoholic when they drink. "All of the genes probably have a small effect. It's just getting the right, or "wrong," mix of these genes that predisposes you to alcoholism," Dick said. "We think we have found one base is an evolutionary step that gives humans a habitat "not just of Earth but of the solar system," said Harrison Schmitt, the last man to step on the moon. Schmitt, a former New Mexico senator, said it was comparable to humans first moving out of Africa. Less lofty reasons to go to the moon include finding helium 3, which can be used in nuclear fusion on Earth, setting up a solar power farm to beam electricity back to Earth, and a tele scope on the moon's dark side, scien tists and engineers said. The main reason to go to the moon, most said, is as a training base for Mars, where astronauts can look for life and clues about the way planets formed. When it comes to science, robots have accomplished more than astro nauts, said David Stephenson, profes sor of planetary sciences at Califor- Half.com of the risk genes, but we think there are a lot more out there." The study is "strong evidence" that GABA plays a role in alcoholism, True said. But don't expect it to be the final answer, he said. "Scientists look at this as a conver sation and this is the latest comment. We're waiting for the next comment and its follow-up. So it's not like there's ever a final word," True said. The most important risk factor for developing alcoholism may be a person's environment and personality, even for people who carry genetic risk factors, Dick said. "If you never take a drink," Dick said, "you're never going to become an alcoholic." nia Institute of Technology in Pasa dena. Alex Roland, a Duke University his torian, said putting people into a space ship makes crew safety the absolute priority and "diminishes the amount of science you're going to get out of it at ten times the cost." Cost is a major problem for NASA, said conservative former Rep. Dick Zimmer, R-N.J., and liberal current U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., both foes of the over-budget International Space Station. "If they want romance, let them buy Danielle Steel books. It's much cheaper than going to Mars," Frank said. "It's important for human beings to have goals, but why does the goal have to be going millions of miles away? I think it's a good goal to clean-up all the hazardous waste sites in America arklprovide health care to people." a ICOar b e Same textbooks. Smarter prices.
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