Human Genome
SALT LAKE CITY, Aug. 27, 2009 -- University of Utah researchers used data from Portuguese water dogs -- the breed of President Barack Obama's dog Bo -- to help find a gene that gives some dogs curly hair and others long, wavy hair.
Variants in just three genes acting in different combinations account for the wide range of coat textures seen in dogs -- from the poodle's tight curls to the beagle's stick-straight fur.
An international team of 16 scientists today reports the first direct measurement of the general rate of genetic mutation at individual DNA letters in humans. The team sequenced the same piece of DNA - 10,000,000 or so letters or 'nucleotides' from the Y chromosome - from two men separated by 13 generations, and counted the number of differences.
CORVALLIS, Ore. -- A new study has concluded that one key part of the immune system, the ability of vitamin D to regulate anti-bactericidal proteins, is so important that is has been conserved through almost 60 million years of evolution and is shared only by primates, including humans -- but no other known animal species.
University of Washington (UW) researchers have successfully developed a novel genome-analysis strategy for more rapid, lower cost discovery of possible gene-disease links. By saving time and lowering expenses, the approach makes it feasible for scientists to search for disease-causing genes in people with the same inherited disorder but without any family ties to each other.
DURHAM, N.C. -- Researchers have identified the first genetic marker that predicts response to hepatitis C treatments, and a single letter of DNA code appears to make a huge difference.
Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have identified inherited variations in two genes that account for 37 percent of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), including a gene that may help predict drug response.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- Brown University and other scientists have taken the first steps toward mapping epigenetic variability in cells and tissues. Mapping the human epigenome, similar to the human genome project in the 1990s, could someday allow for quicker and more precise disease diagnoses and more targeted treatments of many chronic ailments.
At one time or another most of us wonder where we came from, where our parents or grandparents and their parents came from. Did our ancestors come from Europe or Asia? As curious as we are about our ancestors, for practical purposes, we need to think about the ancestry of our genes, according to Cecil Lewis, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Oklahoma.
STANFORD, Calif. -- The first few times that scientists mapped out all the DNA in a human being in 2001, each effort cost hundreds of millions of dollars and involved more than 250 people. Even last year, when the lowest reported cost was $250,000, genome sequencing still required almost 200 people. In a paper to be published online Aug.
Geeks among you might be familiar with TED, a series of conferences that started 0ut very tech-oriented but now deals with everything including complex global issues and cutting-edge science. Its motto is 'Ideas worth spreading'.
Peering into the DNA of tiny yeast, researchers at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego and the San Diego Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research have pinpointed a large number of genes that can prevent a type of genetic rearrangement that may lead to cancer and other diseases.
La Jolla, CA -- Rather than sticking to a single DNA script, human brain cells harbor astonishing genomic variability, according to scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. The findings, to be published in the Aug.
College Park, MD (July 27, 2009) -- In the race for faster, cheaper ways to read human genomes, Pacific Biosciences is hoping to set a new benchmark with technology that watches DNA being copied in real time.
SAN DIEGO -- (July 16, 2009) A research team led by the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology has identified the specific gene which triggers the body to produce disease-fighting antibodies -- a seminal finding that clarifies the exact molecular steps taken by the body to mount an antibody defense against viruses and other pathogens.
