Deleting gene alters sex of mice during development

By Gila Reckess

Scientists have identified the first growth factor linked to sex determination.

Fibroblast growth factor 9 (Fgf9) is a protein important in development. Deleting the gene for that protein, also called Fgf9, produced mice that had a female reproductive system even though they had a Y chromosome, which normally creates males.

Although other genes are known to influence gender, this is the first example of a gene that has been conserved during evolution. Therefore, Fgf9 might play a critical role in sex determination and the development of the reproductive system in a wide variety of animals.

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A good match! Carol Kaplan cheers on Match Day, held March 22 in Moore Auditorium. Each year on Match Day, senior medical students in the United States learn which residency programs they will enter. Kaplan will train in internal medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Drug resistance found to change with ethnicity

Researchers found that African and African-American populations included more individuals with the drug-resistant gene than Caucasian or Asian populations. This might help explain why some people of African descent respond poorly to chemotherapy.

The research was presented Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in New Orleans.

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Arthur Neufeld receives glaucoma research award

Arthur H. Neufeld, Ph.D., the Bernard Becker Research Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, has been awarded the 2000 Lewis Rudin Prize by the New York Academy of Med-icine. The Rudin prize is given annually for outstanding glaucoma research published during the previous year.

Neufeld showed that protecting nerve cells in the retina can help prevent damage in a chronic model of glaucoma. The report generated a great deal of excitement in the scientific community.

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