LONDON — Post genomic research received a boost this month when the European Union awarded almost £25 million (€39.4 million) to three pan European projects intended to enhance Europe's scientific base for translating the fruits of the human genome project into medical discoveries. The size and organization of the projects are a marked departure from previous EU-funded research, and demonstrate how the EU intends to fund most science in future. Each project was selected because it needs international and multidisciplinary collaboration if it is to succeed.
The £25 million will be split roughly three ways between the consortia. One will focus on standardizing twin registers and developing research tools for linking twin genotypes and phenotypes. A second will develop standardized ways to characterize mutant mice, while a third will undertake a three-dimensional structural analysis of some 600 human and pathogen proteins. The awards are for three years, and each approaches ...
