Spinal Cord Map Released

Allen Institute, in an endeavor that has resulted in what can be called a medical breakthrough, has developed a chart showing fingerprints of spinal cord. As per plans, the two-dimensional map showing 2,000 active genes will be first released online.

Founded in 2003, Allen Institute- formulated the map just as a part of a project. And this is not the first time the institute has come out with something out of the box, at an outlay of more than $41 million first brain-map of a mouse was released in 2006.

Allan Jones, chief scientific officer of Allen Institute said, "Our aim is to get it into the researchers' hands. We're putting this out there very quickly after we generate it."

Researchers at the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Fremont conducted a research in which they systematically analyzed the biology of the spinal cords of mice by dissecting various sections of the backbone and observed the functioning of the normal and abnormal genes.

This map has given a ray of hope as it can be really helpful for the scientists to come up with new treatments that correct the problems related to severe spinal cord malfunctioning that may have originated due to an injury, diseases disorder or trauma.

Because 90 percent of genetic make up of mice and humans is same, the map can provide a great deal of insight into the vertebral column of humans.

The backbone or the spinal cord map will give a clear picture to the scientists about the kind of genes that are responsible for normal functioning of the body and ones that result in disorders or diseases in the body, said Gregory Cox, an associate professor at the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine.

Cox is doing a detailed analysis and study on degenerative motor neuron diseases in humans, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease; therefore, he is particularly interested in the map revelation as it will help him identify the nasty genes that cause degeneration in motor neurons.

Basically Cox will use the map to figure out what kind of mutations, if there are any, occur in the genes that disrupt the normal functions of the genes.

The map is just a "starting point." The map will put in the picture very plainly if an active gene is the root cause of a disease, "if it's not there, why waste my time," Jeffrey Rothstein, a professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University said.

The spinal cord atlas still requires $2.3 million to reach its finishing point. At this instant, a number of foundations are contributing at least $600, 000 to the institute; the amount will arm the institute to hire manpower as the project work is arduous and time-consuming.

The photos related to the project are available online and have been viewed at least 10,000 times in a month.