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Genetics News And Research - November 2009 Archives
 | Over the course of a lifetime, the heart pumps some 250 million liters of blood through the body. In the order to do this, the muscle fibers of the heart have to be extremely durable. The research group headed by Dr. Wolfgang Rottbauer, vice chair of the Department of Medicine III at Heidelberg University Hospital, has discovered a protein that is responsible for the stability of the smallest muscular unit, the sarcomere. ...> Full Article |
 | Turkey is the fourth most economically important source of meat for consumers in the United States. The genome sequence and genomic resources should provide turkey breeders with the tools needed to improve commercial breeds of turkey for production traits such as meat yield and quality, health and disease resistance, and fertility and reproduction. The sequence work is now about 90 percent complete. ...> Full Article |
 | Two new studies reveal in unprecedented detail how the ribosome interacts with other molecules to assemble new proteins and guide them toward their destination in biological cells. The studies used molecular dynamics flexible fitting to examine the interaction of the ribosome with two prominent molecular partners. ...> Full Article |
 | The offspring of two inbred strains tend to be superior to both of their parents. Characterizing the gene-level variability that leads to this phenomenon, known as heterosis or hybrid vigor, could boost our ability to custom-tailor crops for specific traits, such as high protein content for human consumption or high glucose content for biomass fuel. ...> Full Article |
Companies that are faced with the challenge of cleaning up toxic wastewater from mining operations will soon have more reliable bioremediation options.
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 | A team of biologists and engineers has dramatically improved the speed and accuracy of measuring histones, an enigmatic set of proteins that influences almost every aspect of how cells and tissues function. The new method offers a long-sought tool for studying stem cells, cancer and other problems of fundamental importance to biology and medicine.
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 | A new statistical technique developed by researchers at the University of Illinois allows scientists to scan a genome for specific gene-regulatory regions without requiring prior knowledge of the relevant transcription factors. The technique has been experimentally validated in both the mouse genome and the fruit fly genome. ...> Full Article |
Tufts University researchers have identified a gene-diet interaction that appears to influence body weight and have replicated their findings in three independent studies. Men and women carrying the CC genotype demonstrated higher body mass index scores and a higher incidence of obesity, but only if they consumed a diet high in saturated fat. These associations were seen in the apolipoprotein A-II gene promoter.
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Cancer researchers from the Max Delbrueck Center, Berlin, Germany, have gained new insights into how cells react to DNA damage. They have shown that the protein PARP-1, which detects DNA damage within seconds, activates the transcription factor NF-kappaB. NF-kappaB triggers a survival program, which blocks programmed cell death. The activation of NF-kappaB is thought to be one of the potential causes for tumor cell resistance to chemo and radiation therapy.
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 | During meiosis the pairing, recombination and segregation of half the chromosomes to egg and sperm the cytoskeleton plays a key role. Abby Dernburg and UC Berkeley colleagues have found that the cytoskeleton facilitates movement of the chromosomes in search of a partner and, once the chromosomes come together, check whether the chromosomes are homologous. If yes, it then allows formation of a zipper-like synptonemal complex between the two. ...> Full Article |
 | Adam Bogdanove, associate professor in plant pathology, was researching the molecular basis of bacterial diseases of rice when he discovered how a group of proteins from plant pathogenic bacteria interact with DNA in the plant cell, opening up the possibility for what the scientist calls a "cascade of advances." ...> Full Article |
 | Bioengineers at UC San Diego have made a breakthrough development that will now allow scientists to perform full delineation of the location and use of genomic elements. ...> Full Article |
 | A $1.3 Million grant from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will fund the next phase of research that is critical to global food security. ...> Full Article |
 | Complete Genomics, a third-generation human genome sequencing company, today announced publication of a report in the journal Science describing its proprietary DNA sequencing platform, including analysis of sequence data from three complete human genomes. The consumables cost for these three genomes sequenced on the proof-of-principle genomic DNA nanoarrays ranged from $8,005 for 87x coverage to $1,726 for 45x coverage for the samples described in this report. ...> Full Article |
Lowly bacteria, it turns out, hold the power to help militaries and munitions manufacturing plants around the world clean up toxic waste on test sites.
...> Full Article
As global temperatures and energy costs continue to soar, renewable sources of energy will be key to a sustainable future. An attractive replacement for gasoline is biofuel, and in two studies published online in Genome Research, scientists have analyzed the genome structures of bioethanol-producing microorganisms, uncovering genetic clues that will be critical in developing new technologies needed to implement production on a global scale.
...> Full Article
 | A strategy that combines gene therapy with blood stem cell therapy may be a useful tool for treating a fatal brain disease, French researchers have found. These findings appear in the Nov. 6, 2009, issue of the journal Science, which is published by AAAS, the nonprofit science society. ...> Full Article |
 | The whole genome sequence of the domestic horse has been completed by the genome-sequencing center of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, in collaboration with an international team of researchers that includes scientists at the University of California, Davis. The findings, which have important implications for improved breeding of horses and for studies of human health, will be reported in the Nov. 6 issue of the journal Science.
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Some 350 experts from 50 nations gathering in Mexico for their 3rd global meeting will outline the latest creative applications of DNA barcoding, including several projects related to human health, fraud, smuggling, the food chain and reconstructing environmental history.
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 | Plasmids, which are DNA molecules capable of independent replication in cells, have played an important role in gene technology. Researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden have now demonstrated that plasmid-based methods, which had been limited to single-cell organisms such as bacteria and yeasts, can be extended to mosses, opening the door to applications of a number of powerful techniques in plant research. The findings have been published in the distinguished journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ...> Full Article |
An international group of scientists is proposing to generate whole genome sequences for 10,000 vertebrate species using technology so new it hasn't yet been invented. But the scientists say new genome sequencing protocols that will allow them to embark on the project are close to completion and may be available within a year or two.
...> Full Article
 | The genome of the cucumber has been sequenced by an international consortium lead by Chinese and US institutions. The annotated genome is published online Nov. 1 by the journal Nature Genetics. ...> Full Article |
 | A global collaborative has produced a first draft of the genome of a domesticated pig, an achievement that will lead to insights in agriculture, medicine, conservation and evolution. ...> Full Article |
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