WASHINGTON, Sept 20, 2007 (AFP) - Scientists have identified the genetic blueprint of a parasite that causes disfigurement and debilitating diseases, an advance which could lead to new treatments, research released Thursday said.

The parasite, Brugia malayi (B. malayi), has incapacitated and disfigured more than 40 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

TAIPEI, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) - A group of Canadian scientists is working on an ambitious project to create a global database of up to half a million of the world's species using DNA barcoding technology.

The scientists are hoping to raise 150 million dollars to fund an initial five-year stage of what they describe as the biodiversity equivalent of launching a rocket to the moon.

DNA barcoding, a technique for characterising a species using only a short DNA sequence, has wide-ranging implications for health and the environment.

PARIS, Sept 16, 2007 (AFP) - Smell is in the nose of the beholder as much as beauty is in the eye, according to a study released Sunday showing for the first time that variations in a single gene can determine whether a scent is perceived as fair or foul.

It has long been known that smell and taste -- which are essentially the same thing -- are highly subjective. The fragrance that one person finds sublime could make someone else queasy, and one man's wine of the gods can be another man's plonk.

A third person might not smell anything at all.

WASHINGTON, Sept 14, 2007 (AFP) - Hundreds of experts in DNA barcoding meet in Taiwan next week for a major conference on this young, cutting-edge science which could have wide-ranging implications for health and the environment.

Major advances in this field could be used to improve public health, consumer protection and food safety and will be discussed by some 350 experts from 46 countries at the seminar in Taipei from Tuesday to Thursday.

LONDON, Sept 10, 2007 (AFP) - British scientists have developed a technique which uses three-dimensional scans of children's faces to detect signs of rare genetic conditions, they said Monday.

The technique works by picking up tiny changes in the shapes of noses, jaws, ears and head shape of children and comparing them to the faces of healthy youngsters.

It can help to pick up conditions such as Fragile X syndrome more quickly. Fragile X sufferers have long faces and protruding ears and symptoms include learning disabilities and delays in speech.

LONDON, Sept 5, 2007 (AFP) - Every British citizen and all visitors to the country should have their DNA logged on the national database, a top judge proposed Wednesday, sparking protests from civil liberties groups.

Britain's database, used by police to snare criminals, is already the largest in the world, with 5.2 percent of the population -- around four million people -- on file.

Since 2004, everyone arrested in England and Wales for all but the most minor offences -- regardless of guilt -- has been logged on the database.

GENEVA, Sept 3, 2007 (AFP) - One breed of livestock is becoming extinct every month and genetic stockpiles are needed to preserve a wide variety of species, according to a report issued Monday by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

African, Asian and Latin American species are most at threat from the over-reliance on just a few breeds of some types of farm animals, the FAO said at the opening of a conference on animal genetic resources in Interlaken in Switzerland.

PARIS, Aug 29, 2007 (AFP) - Kicking the tobacco habit, even young, does not always reset harmful cancer-related genes that have been switched on or off by smoking in the first place, according to a study to be published Thursday.

Taking samples from the respiratory tracts of 24 smokers, non-smokers and ex-smokers, Canadian researchers from the British Columbia Cancer Agency anaylsed gene activity using a powerful technique called 'serial analysis of gene expression' (SAGE).

PARIS, Aug 26, 2007 (AFP) - Scientists in France and Italy have deciphered the complete genetic code for the plant producing wine grapes, according to a study published Sunday.

While the findings will do nothing to enhance the mystique of winemaking, they could pave the way for gene-based manipulations to boost flavour and improve resistance against disease.

PARIS, Aug 22, 2007 (AFP) - Scientists have stumbled on a mouse gene which, when disabled, provokes behaviour similar to the anguishing human condition known as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), according to a study released Wednesday.

When the gene is reactivated, or when the mice are given drugs used to treat the syndrome in people, the compulsive actions diminish, says the study, published in the British journal Nature.