DNA gets broken, and this could give rise to cancer. However, the broken end of the DNA is able to use a similar sequence for repair, and researchers at the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience at Delft University of Technology have found out how this works, in a paper published in Molecular Cell.
sequence archive.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder after a stressful event such as assault or terrorist attacks, but some people seem to develop it while others don’t. Why? It seems to be in their genes. UCLA scientists have linked two genes involved in serotonin production to a higher risk of developing PTSD, in a paper published in the April 3 online edition of the Journal of Affective Disorders.
On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me… eight maids-a-milking. In 2009, researchers sequenced the genome of a female Hereford cow, and published the results in Science.
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me… seven swans-a-swimming. Researchers have sequenced the mitochondrial genome of the whistling swan.
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me… six geese a-laying. In June 2011, Chinese researchers sequenced the genome of the Zhedong white goose.
A descendent of Genghis Kahn, the founder of the Mongol Empire, has joined the ranks of the sequenced. Researchers at the Inner Mongolia Agricultural University have sequenced the entire genome of one of the Mongolian leader’s 34th generation descendants. This descendent is not lonely, however – up to half a percent of the world’s population may be related to Genghis Khan.
Hints and tips from BMC Genomics: AluScan: a method for genome-wide scanning of sequence and structure variations in the human genome
The Archon Genomics X PRIZE has a new presenting sponsor and is being renamed Archon Genomics X PRIZE presented by Medco. It is also changing its focus to target the genome sequencing of 100 centenarians, measuring accuracy, cost, speed and completeness. The new competition will begin on 3 January 2013 and close on 3 February 2013.
Startup Medicinal Genomics has sequenced the genome of Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica (marijuana), with 131 billion bases of sequence, for around $200,000. The sequence is still a draft and has been posted on Amazon’s EC2 public cloud computing service, but has not yet been published in peer-reviewed journals. The data is expected to be available towards the end of 2011, and the company aims to develop therapeutics that maximise its medicinal activity and minimise the psychoactive effects.
The amount of data on the human genome and human biology is enormous, but locating answers in the public databases to what might seem to be simple questions can be challenging. Textbooks often have these answers, but the process of interest might be described for yeast, flies, or worms. Guide to the Human Genome tries to bridge this gap with the subject organization of familiar textbooks and an associated database to simplify access to genome information.
