Antibodies are watchdogs of human health, continuously prowling the body and registering minute changes associated with infection or disease with astonishing acuity. They also serve as biochemical memory banks, faithfully recording information abo…
A team of biologists has discovered an entirely new group of algae living in a variety of marine and freshwater environments. This group of algae, which the researchers dubbed “rappemonads,” have DNA that is distinctly different from that of ot…
A consortium of researchers working across five continents, including BBSRC-funded scientists in the UK, has published the genome of the wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca). The research, published today (26/12/2010) in the journal Nature Genetics will…
Scientists from Imperial College London are developing technology that could ultimately sequence a person’s genome in mere minutes, at a fraction of the cost of current commercial techniques.
The researchers have patented an early prototype techno…
Scientists studying genetic data from nearly 50,000 people have uncovered several DNA sequence variations associated with the electrical impulses that make the heart beat. The findings, reported in Nature Genetics, may pave the way for a greater und…
Most mutations in the genes of the Salmonella bacterium have a surprisingly small negative impact on bacterial fitness. And this is the case regardless whether they lead to changes in the bacterial proteins or not. This is shown by Uppsala Universit…
The first entire genome of an Irish individual has been sequenced. The sequence is reported in BioMed Central’s open access journal, Genome Biology and provides insight into the evolutionary history of this distinct lineage.
Led by Professor Brend…
The International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium, led in the United States by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and the Department of Energy (DOE), today announced the successful completion of the Human Genome Project more than two years ahead of schedule. Also today, NHGRI unveiled its bold new vision for the future of genome research, officially ushering in the era of the genome. The vision will be published in the April 24 issue of the journal Nature, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Nature’s publication of the landmark paper by Nobel Laureates James Watson and Francis Crick that described DNA’s double helix. Dr. Watson also was the first leader of the Human Genome Project.
Scientists at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) and their collaborators have deciphered and analyzed the complete genome sequence of Coxiella burnetii, a potential bioterror agent that causes Q Fever. C. burnetii, which was first isolated as the cause of Q Fever in Australia in 1937, is typically found in farm animals but also infects humans, including an epidemic that sickened many soldiers in Europe during World War II. Typically, Q Fever does not kill people, but causes fever and other flu-like symptoms.
At about 4 a.m. this morning, scientists at the BC Cancer Agency’s Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre completed the first publicly available draft sequence for a coronavirus implicated in SARS. “This is a huge step forward in the fight to control the spread of SARS,” says Dr. Caroline Astell, projects leader at the Genome Sciences Centre. Since receiving 1 millionth of a gram of purified viral genetic material from Dr. Frank Plummer at the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg, relayed by the BC Centre for Disease Control, scientists at the Genome Sciences Centre have worked around the clock to complete the sequence, using both molecular techniques and state-of-the-art laboratory automation.