Genetics & Molecular Biology

You thought psychological counselling for pets was the last word in over-indulgent animal concern? Not so. Thanks to Dr. Susan Nelson, a veterinarian at Kansas State University, you can get a blood test, "Wisdom panel MX", that can determine the ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 21 2008 - 4:26pm

Breech Delivery Is Inherited- Study

A baby is twice as likely to be born bottom first if either or both the parents were themselves breech deliveries, according to a study published ahead of print on bmj.com. The results suggest genes are a contributing factor. The vast majority of babies ar ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 27 2008 - 6:32pm

Non-functional DNA: Non-functional Vs. Inconsequential

Each copy of the human genome consists of about 3,200,000,000 base pairs, and includes about 500,000 repeats of the LINE-1 transposable element (a LINE) and twice as many copies of Alu (a SINE), as compared to around 20,000 protein-coding genes. Whereas pr ...

Article - T. Ryan Gregory - Jan 2 2013 - 1:02pm

The Benefits Of Our 100 Million-Year Relationship With Herpesviruses

We go back a long way with herpesviruses. Our evolutionary line has been living with these genomic parasites for more than 100 million years, and today herpesviruses infect nearly all humans, as well as all other mammals, birds and reptiles that scientists ...

Article - Michael White - Apr 25 2008 - 11:15am

Discovery- Gene Sequence That Can Make Half Of Us Fatter

A study of 90,000 people has uncovered new genetic variants that influence fat mass, weight and risk of obesity. The variants act in addition to the recently described variants of the FTO gene: adults carrying variants in both genes are, on average, 3.8 kg ...

Article - News Staff - May 4 2008 - 6:36pm

Still No Genetic Link To Longevity

Want to live a long life? Your genes still don't make a difference (yet) according to research on the bone health of one of the oldest persons in the world who recently died at the age of 114 The study reveals that there were no genetic modifications ...

Article - News Staff - May 5 2008 - 8:20pm

Ghrelin Gut Hormone- Why Food Looks Yummy

A gut hormone that causes people to eat more does so by making food appear more desirable, suggests a new report in the May issue of Cell Metabolism. In a brain imaging study of individuals, the researchers found that reward centers respond more strongly t ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 25 2010 - 2:00am

'Patchwork' DNA- Genome Of Platypus Decoded

The first genome sequencing project of a mammal that lays eggs is complete and, like the animal itself, the DNA of the platypus is something of a patchwork. The platypus, found in eastern Australia, including Tasmania, is one of the five species of mammals ...

Article - News Staff - May 7 2008 - 10:03pm

What The Platypus Genome Is And Isn't

I haven't contributed a single thing to the platypus genome project, but since my desk sits one floor above where people and robots broke the platypus DNA into chunks, cloned those chunks into bacteria, sequenced the pieces of DNA, and used massive am ...

Article - Michael White - May 12 2008 - 1:02am

Personalized Genetic Testing: Starting Down The Rabbit Hole

President Bush has a bill on his desk, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), which will prohibit discrimination on the basis of genetic information with respect to health insurance and employment. He is expected to sign the bill, but is sc ...

Article - Becky Jungbauer - May 10 2008 - 9:10am