GENE MAP MAKES WAY ONTO INTERNET.

Byline: Medical Tribune News Service

Scientists have released onto the Internet a map showing the location of about one-fifth of the genes found inside a human cell.

The map is ``a landmark in biology that will help unlock the mysteries of disease,'' said Dr. Donald A.B. Lindberg, director of the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Md.

``This map represents the most extensive effort so far to locate and identify the 80,000 genes in the human genome - the full set of genetic instructions inside a human cell,'' he said at a news conference Thursday.

``The human gene map will speed the discovery of genes contributing to common diseases such as obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, asthma, multiple sclerosis and psychiatric disorders,'' said Dr. David Lipman, director of the Library's National Center for Biotechnology Information, which coordinated the project.

Once a gene that seems to be involved in a particular disease is identified, scientists can use the information to develop better ways of treating, diagnosing and possibly curing that disease.

More than 100 scientists from governments, universities and commercial laboratories across the world contributed to the map, which will be published in today's issue of the journal Science.

The number of mapped human genes has tripled in the past two years, researchers said. A complete map of the entire human genome should be available by 2005, according to the National Library of Medicine.

The mapping project linked more than 16,000 genes or parts of genes to locations on particular chromosomes. Just as satellite pictures can zoom in on particular areas of the country to give a more detailed picture of the landscape, researchers can use markers on this human gene map as landmarks. The map is available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/science96/.