Two studies in Nature Genetics, including researchers from UC Davis, have looked at the genetics of brain size, and have linked these with Alzheimer’s disease and brain development.
chromosome archive.
Tasmanian devils could be extinct in 20 years because of a highly contagious facial cancer called devil facial tumor disease (DFTD). In two papers, researchers have sequenced the genome of the cancer and mapped the chromosome and gene rearrangements, and this could give the animals hope at last.
The Genome Engineering game for January is Make a Karyotype. A karyotype is a paired and ordered profile of an organism’s chromosomes. Drag chromosomes from the left to match them up with those on the right. If you get stuck, click on ‘hints’.
Prostate cancer usually is seen in men over 50, and is slow-growing and often symptom-free. However, the form that runs in families can start earlier, and researchers believe that they might have found the mutation behind this, the first major mutation associated with prostate cancer.
Researchers at the University of California have created the first three-dimensional map of the human genome. The team at USC describes the genomic DNA strand as being ‘so long that if a nucleus were the size of a soccer ball, the strand of DNA inside it could be unraveled to stretch more than 30 miles long.’ The research was published online in Nature on Christmas Day.
Hints and tips from Nature Methods: Researchers synthesize chromosome arms to facilitate genetic studies in yeast.
The house mouse (Mus musculus domesticus) is a major pest in the house and for stored food and crops, and has developed resistance to rodent poison. Researchers have discovered that one of the ways that the house mouse can do this by hybridisation with another species.
Depression affects around 20% of the population at some time, and is a complex disorder, with up to 4% of the population having severe and recurring depression. According to family studies, up to 40% of depression could be linked to genetic factors. Two papers published in the American Journal of Psychiatry seem to confirm this genetic link.
As well as providing the bitter edge in a gin and tonic, quinine has been used as a treatment for malaria since the 17th century. How much you enjoy the taste may be down to how bitter you think it to be, and that’s in your genes.
Illumina, based in San Diego, has announced the creation of the Illumina Genome Network as a global partnership to link researchers who want to carry out large-scale whole human genome sequencing projects with the institutions that can perform such projects.
