conclusions fulminant hepatitis b is associated with distinct mutational patterns of hbv, underlining that genomic diversity of the virus is an important factor determining its pathogenicity. results the most commonly detected diversities affect regulatory motifs of hbv in the core and s region, indicating that these alterations may convert the virus to an aggressive strain. moreover, mutations...

The success of the Human Genome Project (HGP) has provided a blueprint for the approximately 20,000 gene-encoded proteins potentially active in all of the hundreds of cell types that make up the human body. Yet we still have limited knowledge about a majority of the gene-encoded proteins which are the “building blocks of life” and “cellular machinery”. It is estimated that for nearly half of th...

Dear readers, The last few decades have seen a number of exciting developments in genetics. First, Watson and Crick broke the genetic code; since then, tech-nologic and methodologic breakthroughs have permitted the study and direct manipulation of our DNA. Now there is an international ground swell to map and sequence the human genome. The Bush administration had originally requested $128 milli...