“We are rapidly entering a time when nearly anyone can have his or her genome sequenced,” said Michael Snyder, PhD, professor and chair of genetics at Stanford. “However, the bulk of the differences among individuals are not found in the genes themselves, but in regions we know relatively little about. Now we see that these differences profoundly impact protein binding and gene expression.”

Snyder is the senior author of two papers — one in Science Express and one in Nature — exploring these protein-binding differences in humans, chimpanzees and yeast. Snyder, the Stanford W. Ascherman, MD, FACS, Professor in Genetics, came to Stanford in July 2009 from Yale, where much of the work was conducted.

Genes, which carry the specific instructions necessary to make proteins do the work of the cell, vary by only about 0.025 percent across all humans. Scientists have spent decades trying to understand how these tiny differences affect who we are and what we become. In contrast, non-coding regions of the genome, which account for approximately 98 percent of our DNA, vary in their sequence by about 1 to 4 percent. But until recently, scientists had little, if any, idea what these regions do and how they contribute to the “special sauce” that makes me, me, and you, you.

Now Snyder and his colleagues have found that the unique, specific changes among individuals in the sequence of DNA affect the ability of “control proteins” called transcription factors to bind to the regions that control gene expression. As a result, the subsequent expression of nearby genes can vary significantly.

“People have done a lot of work over the years to characterize differences in gene expression among individuals,” said Snyder. “We’re the first to look at differences in transcription-factor binding from person to person.” What’s more, by selectively breeding, or crossing, yeast strains, Snyder and his colleagues found that many, but not all, of these differences in binding and expression levels are heritable.

In the Science Express paper, which will be published online March 18, Snyder and his colleagues compared the binding patterns of two transcription factors in 10 people and one chimpanzee. They identified more than 15,000 binding sites across the genome for the transcription factor called NF-kB and more than 19,000 sites for another factor called RNA PolII. They then looked to see if every site was bound equally strongly by the proteins, or if there were variations among individuals.

They found that about 25 percent of the PolII sites and 7.5 percent of the NF-kB sites exhibited significant binding differences among individuals — in some cases greater than two orders of magnitude from one person to another. (For comparison, the binding differences between the humans and the chimpanzee were about 32 percent.) Many of these binding differences could be traced to differences in sequences or structure in the protein binding sites, and several were directly correlated to changes in gene expression levels.

“These binding regions, or chunks, vary among individuals,” said Snyder, “and they have a profound impact on gene expression.” In particular, the researchers found that several of the variable binding regions were near genes involved in such diseases as type-1 diabetes, lupus, leukemia and schizophrenia.

The researchers confirmed and extended their findings in the Nature paper, which will be published online March 17. In this study, they used yeast to determine that many of the binding differences and variations in gene expression levels in individuals are passed from parent to progeny, and they identify several control proteins that vary — a study that would have been impossible to perform in humans.

“We conducted the two studies in parallel,” said Snyder, “and found the same thing. Many of the binding sites differed. When we mapped the areas of difference, we found that they were associated with key regulators of variation in the population. Together these two studies tell us a lot about the so-called regulatory code that controls variation among individuals.”

The research in the Science Express study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Medical Fellows Program. The research in the Nature study was supported by the National Institutes of Health. In addition to Snyder, other Stanford researchers involved in the two studies include postdoctoral scholars Fabian Grubert, PhD; Minyi Shi, PhD; and Manoj Hariharan, PhD; and graduate student Konrad Karczewski.

The scheme is to stimulate students to take up programmes in the field of Math and Science and make Science and technology the critical drivers for the country’s socio-economic development.

The Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Ms. Sherry Ayittey, announced this at a national forum on Ghana’s Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policy in Accra yesterday.

The forum was on the theme, “Achieving a middle-income status through science, technology and innovation”, and it was meant to discuss the STI policy before it gets to the higher realms of the Executive arm of the government.

The goal of the STI policy is to harness the nation’s total science and technology capacity to achieve national objectives for poverty reduction, competitiveness of enterprises, sustainable environmental management and industrial growth.

Specific objectives are among other things, facilitating the mastering of scientific and technological capabilities and providing the framework for inter-institutional efforts in developing STI programmes in all sectors of the economy to provide the basic needs of society.

It is also to create the conditions for the improvement of scientific and technological infrastructure for research and development and innovation.

The STI policy was adopted as a national document in 2000. It was, however, not implemented.

The two consultants who worked on the draft policy are Prof. Jerome Siaw Djangmah and Dr. Goerge Owusu Essegbey, both Ghanaian intellectuals and scientists.

Ms. Sherry Ayittey said to extend the country’s laboratories to the marketplace; Cabinet had approved a policy which stipulates the use of local raw materials such as Pozolana cement in the building and construction industry, cassava flour in the joinery industry, bio-char organic fertilizer for farmers and paper from wood.

She admitted that the government could not do it alone and called for partnerships among the private sector, the development partners, the United National, academia and the government in that area.

Ms. Ayittey said Ghana’s vision of attaining a middle-income status is dependent on the extent to which the country mobilised its scientific and technological capacity to address specific challenges.

The Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Mr. P.V. Obeng, who chaired the function, said science and technology are “value items” in the world environment which Ghana is not exploiting to develop.

He noted that science will enable the nation to move away from the old ways of doing things and accelerate economic development.

He said as chairman of the NDPC, no project will earn his support if it is not done differently from what was done in the past with scientific innovations.
Prof. Djangmah, for his part, said the nation needs to set aside at least one per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for research into science and technology, as directed by the African Union (AU).

He said Ghanaian students are not doing well in science and mathematics at the secondary level, noting that attention needed to be paid to that area.

However, such large scale traditional manufacturing is only one part of the story. London is also strong in high technology manufacturing like aerospace and computing, as well as precision engineering and pharmaceuticals. With its highly skilled workforce, much research and development is undertaken in London for products that are manufactured elsewhere, in other parts of the UK and overseas. While many large, global companies have a manufacturing presence in London, there are also smaller firms often producing high value, cutting edge products.

There are a wide range of different jobs available in manufacturing and engineering. With increased mechanisation and use of technology, the need for physical strength once required by heavy industry has been replaced in most cases with a need to understand IT, operate specialist machinery and understand the systems and processes involved in producing goods.

Because of the complex nature of many manufacturing processes, an attention to detail and the ability to work in a team are important to anyone hoping to work in this industry. Because every manufacturing process is different, many employers expect to train their workforce on the job. There are also government-backed training schemes like Apprenticeships which allow students to combine work with training. There are courses available that can train you in skills appropriate to many different types of manufacturing, like warehouse management, logistics and health and safety.

If you are interested in working in more technical areas of the engineering process, you may wish to consider proceeding into higher education and studying a subject related to a specific field. There are also many courses available at college level that you may wish to consider.

. The GRE is now only available as a computer-adaptive test. This is how it works: instead of having a pre-determined mixture of easy, medium, and hard questions, the computer will select questions for you based on how well you are doing. The first question will be of medium difficulty; if you get it right, the second question will be selected from a large group of questions that are a little harder; if you get the first question wrong, the second will be a little easier. The result is that the test automatically adjusts to your skill level. The Tough questions have more credit than easier ones.
.You can still earn a very high score even if you answer several questions incorrectly. Correct answers to Harder questions leads to large score as compared to easier questions. This means to Get large score more difficult questions has to be answered.
.Some (Very few) Universities may demand Subject GRE.
. After completing your exam you can send your scores (free!) to four Universities so be prepared.
. Your GRE scores are valid for 5 years.
.You may appear again in GRE after one month.
Total testing time is up to three hours, not including the research section. The directions at the beginning of each section specify the total number of questions in the section and the time allowed for the section.

The Analytical Writing section is always first. For the Issue task, two topics will be presented and you will choose one. The Argument task does not present a choice of topics; instead, one topic will be presented.

The Verbal and Quantitative sections may appear in any order, including an unidentified unscored section. Treat each section presented during your test as if it counts.

Section Number of Questions Time
Analytical Writing 1 Issue Task 45 minutes
Analytical Writing 1 Argument Task* 30 minutes
Verbal 30 30 minutes
Quantitative 28 45 minutes
Unscored** Varies Varies
Research*** Varies Varies
* For the Issue task, two essay topics are presented and you choose one. The Argument task does not present a choice of topics; instead one topic is presented.
** An unidentified unscored section may be included and may appear in any order after the Analytical Writing section. It is not counted as part of your score.
*** An identified research section that is not scored may be included, and it is always at the end of the test.

Some Facts

. Maximum score for sections Verbal, Quantitative is 800. An analytical writing score will be reported on a 0-6 score scale, in half-point increments.
. GRE is generally required by universities in North America (USA and Canada).
. Most Universities require General GRE for admission to MS and Ph.D. in Engineering Sciences.
. Generally for engineering Students score above 1200 (750+ 450+ 4) is considered good for admission for middle order universities ranked between 40 to 90 .There may be some deviations.
. For all engineering Students GRE Q is most important for best results GRE Q must be well above 740 ,GRE A above 650(A>4.0/6.0), GRE V above 450.
. GRE score can considerably improve University Ranking. TOEFL is most important. TOEFL score must be well above 213.Generally
. Top 50 ranked Universities may require GRE>1300(770+,530+,>4/6) and TOEFL>250.For International students Verbal section is quite difficult. So they must prepare hard on vocabulary.

Note: Work hard in GRE Quantitative. Work on Permutation/combination, probability, mean/median/mode… etc.

IELTS is accepted by universities in UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. It has become a mandatory test for study in Australia.

You cannot be granted an Australian student visa without an IELTS score, TOEFL is not accepted.

All other study destinations either require you to take the TOEFL or IELTS. IELTS is however not accepted by most universities in USA. In many Canadian Universities either of IELETS/TOEFL would work.

IELTS is accepted by most Australian, British, Canadian and New Zealand academic institutions. American academic institutions are increasingly accepting IELTS for admissions purposes.

. IELTS assesses your English language ability. A good score (usually 6.0 and above) is an entry requirement for many colleges and universities worldwide.
.You can repeat the test as often as you like, but only at intervals of at least 90 days between test dates.

What is the format of the test?
The test has four parts:
Listening ? 30 minutes
Reading ? 1 hour
Writing ? 1 hour
Speaking ? 13 ? 15 minutes