The Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Ministry of Science and Innovation (MOSTI) and the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia – Pacific (NACA) will be organising a Training Course on Application of Molecular Genetics in Conservation, to be held at USM, Penang, Malaysia from 17 to 22 November 2008. The major objective of the workshop is to build capacity for scientists and policy makers in Malaysia and in neighbouring countries in understanding the application of molecular genetics in conservation. More specifically, the workshop will:

• Conduct series of lectures which includes background on phylogenetics, conservation genetics and molecular markers utilized for conservation.
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• Provide hands-on training on a number of molecular genetic techniques, including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based techniques such as microsatellite and direct sequencing.
• Assist participants for a better understanding of different types of molecular markers and application.
• Provide instruction on experimental design and data analysis with updated software packages which would include PAUP, MEGA, GENEPOP, STRUCTURE and ARLEQUIN.

The Government has decided to earmark 576 billion VND to help protect rare and precious aquatic animals from extinction from now until 2020.

The project received the go ahead from the Prime Minister under a decision signed by Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai on May 2.

The blueprint looks to protect rare and precious underwater animals from extinction risks and develop genes of rare species with the participation of the whole community, contributing to protection of biodiversity and sustainable development for the fisheries industry.

During the 2008-10 period, the plan will focus on collecting data about rare and precious underwater animals that are deemed at extinction to map out appropriate protection models for each species.

More than VND850 billion will be invested in a project to develop and apply biotechnology in the fisheries sector from now until 2020.

The project, presented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development at a conference in Hanoi on April 21, aims to create a breakthrough in aquaculture development and post-harvest technology.

The project will help ensure sustainable development of the fisheries sector and improve the competitive edge of Vietnams aquatic products.

The project will focus on preserving and developing gene sources alongside developing new varieties of aquatic products and support research on feed, disease prevention and treatment, and the management of aquaculture environments.

All published writings and unpublished papers of one of the history greatest scientists, Charles Darwin, are officially being published online since 17 April 2008. The project run by Cambridge University has digitised some 43,000 pages of text and 150,000 images of original publications - all of it searchable.

All of Darwin's unpublished manuscripts are being scanned, transcribed or both, if reproduction permission can be obtained. All previously published manuscript transcriptions are included (except where reproduction permission could not be obtained). Overall the site provides a vast amount of material on and by Darwin never before seen on the internet or never reproduced before in any form.

Some texts appearing online for the first time include the first editions of the Journal Of Researches (1839), The Descent Of Man (1871), The Zoology Of The Voyage Of HMS Beagle (1838-43) and the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th editions of the Origin Of Species, the pivotal tome that elucidated his thoughts on evolution.

There is no charge to use the website. Most texts can be viewed either as colour originals or as fully formatted electronic transcriptions. There are also German, Danish and Russian editions.

Enjoy reading Darwins writings at The Complete work of Charles Darwin Online.

A training course on molecular biology techniques will be held at CIFA, India, from 13-27 October 2008 (tentative). For more information about the course contact Dr Kuldeep Kumar, Senior Scientist, email kuldeepkumar_kk@yahoo.co.in.

The Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA) under the administrative control of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has been striving for the development of freshwater aquaculture of the country through planning, conducting and coordinating research, education and training on all aspects of freshwater aquaculture. Over 22 years of its existence, the institute has developed several epoch-making technologies that it can be proud of. Development of technology of induced breeding, seed production and culture of carps, freshwater prawn and catfish; fish stock improvement through genetics and biotechnological tools; culture of freshwater pearls and ornamental fishes; therapeutics and diagnostics; formulated feed for fish and prawn; management of soil and water for optimum productivity; biofertilization, cryopreservation of gametes, etc. are a few examples of its research outcome.

The Fish Genetics and Biotechnology Division of the institute cater to application of biotechnological tools for increasing fish production. Molecular genetics approaches, such as DNA marker technology, DNA cloning, RNA technology and proteomic tools have been developed by the division, which complement the genetic improvement programme through traditional selection. Research on generating DNA linkage maps, mapping populations, EST databases, etc. to be served as genomic resources for detection of quantitative trait loci (QTL) and subsequently marker assisted selection (MAS) is taken up by the division on a priority basis. Besides, candidate gene approach of identifying and characterizing genes involved in reproductive processes of carps has been successful.

Objectives

Fish Genetics and Biotechnology division of CIFA is contemplating to organize a hands-on training on molecular biological techniques, which would cover all the basic and essential techniques Researchers interested in molecular biology need to experience the many ways in which research is conducted in this field, and the hands-on nature of the molecular biology techniques course is an effective way to introduce them to these methods. Thus the present training is expected to serve effectively the researchers working in the area of fish genetics and biotechnology.