national academy of sciences

Screening technique may speed hunt for genes

The hunt to find a gene that causes a disease typically costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and requires years of research – and it still may fail to turn up the sought-after culprit, driving the research back to square one. The result is that while the genes involved in a few inherited diseases such as cystic fibrosis have been identified, many have not. Now, two scientists say they may have found a way to make the search more economical and speed it up. In an article to appear online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences next week, scientists from the University of Florida and Purdue University report merging two established genetic-screening techniques to create one that’s better. The new technique narrows the pool of “candidate” genes in a study from thousands of possibilities to fewer than 100 – perhaps as few as 20.

Time to adjust the compass?

Working high in the Canadian Arctic, researchers from the University of Rochester say they’ve found that several aspects of the powerhouse that drives the Earth’s magnetic field may be related. That’s new in itself. But the team also thinks it may indicate our planet’s about ready for a pole reversal, in which all compasses will begin pointing south.

Deer Before Dying

According to a study published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, venison was the last supper for Iceman, the not-so-cleverly-named Neolithic hunter who was discovered frozen and remarkably well-preserved last decade in the Italian Alps. Researchers from the University of Camerino (Italy) analyzed DNA culled from the contents of Iceman?s 5,300-year-old intestines ? yum, anybody else hungry? ? and determined that the gourmand consumed red deer meat and possibly grains prior to succumbing to an arrow wound. Iceman?s penultimate meal, researchers speculate, was an ibex plus sides of grains and greens.