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POPSImmortal Invaders Infect World's Oceans We aren't in any immediate danger of knock-on effects either, as the jetsetting jellyfish-ettes seem to be integrating quite harmlessly into their new homes (though some shrimp might disagree). The rather damp phoenix-stylings of the hydrozoan have obviously made them a hot topic in genetics, but don't expect to buy your immortality pills just yet - this is one life extension option that isn't even remotely applicable to humans.
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POPSPersonal Genome Project releasing genetic data
Apparently the information being released to the PGP 10 today consists of around 20% of each volunteer's exome, a total of less than 1% of a complete genome sequence - but with the promise of much more to come. Ultimately, the PGP aims to provide complete genome sequences for all of its volunteers, which will become more and more feasible as the cost of DNA sequencing continues to plummet. There won't be any major medical breakthroughs from analysis of the PGP10 data, but this is a tremendous first step in the direction of personalised medicine. It's also an important experiment to see whether the noble open-access model of the PGP can survive contact with reality. As Church notes in the NY Times article: "We don't yet know the consequences of having one's genome out in the open. But it's worth exploring." Anyone who's interested in getting their genome sequenced by the PGP - and sharing the resulting information with the world - should consider registering for inclusion.
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POPSHow genes pick our mates for us Instead of smelly T-shirts, Chaix and colleague Peter Donnelly of the University of Oxford studied previously gathered genetic data on 30 Caucasian couples from Utah and 30 Yoruba couples from Nigeria. The researchers analysed about 9000 genetic differences within the MHC genes, as well as more than 3 million differences dotted across the rest of their genomes. This suggests that the American couples are selecting mates, in large part, based on MHC genes. Not so for Yoruba couples, who seemed to pick mates with MHC genes no more different than would be expected for any two people picked at random from the population. One explanation for the different findings could be diversity. Overall, Yoruba people had more differences in their MHC genes than Americans, so there could be less evolutionary pressure to find a mate with new genes.
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POPSThe Genetic Early Adopters Knome is at the forefront of the push toward so-called personalized medicine. Scientists and physicians hope that when sequencing costs come down enough, genetic analysis will become a ubiquitous part of health care, helping doctors choose the best treatments for a specific patient, or helping individuals take steps to prevent diseases for which they are at risk.
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POPSHuman Obesity Genes Revealed Based On Fly Experiments As De Luca reports, "We found one variant to be associated with weight and lean mass in both ethnic groups. This variant was also associated with height, total fat mass and HDL-cholesterol, but only in European American women. A different variant was associated with triglyceride levels and HDL-cholesterol in African American women." The use of flies in a study of human obesity may seem strange, but according to De Luca "Insects store fat like mammals do, as lipid droplets accumulated in the fat body, the functional equivalent of both mammalian liver and white adipose tissue". She adds that, "Drosophila share many components of fat biosynthesis, degradation and regulation with humans, including many of those implicated in diabetes and obesity".
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POPSGenetics Show How Prehistoric Cultures Migrated & Shared Knowledge The researchers tracked genetic variation on the Y chromosome, the sex chromosome passed from father to son that encodes maleness, using a technique now widely used that was developed in the early 1990s by Underhill and colleagues in the lab of Luigi Cavalli-Sforza, professor emeritus of genetics. The method has given scientists a powerful window into ancient human migrations and prehistoric cultural shifts. The technique has also been adopted by some commercial genealogy services that offer Y-chromosome testing to the public.
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POPSWhat Do Your Genes Say About You? The Future of Personal Genomics The company 23andMe announced its DNA testing service last month in San Diego. You might think such a comprehensive analysis would costs thousands, but the process is actually relatively affordable. For less than $1,000 customers are able to learn virtually everything science currently knows about their biological code. For those wary of needles, you’ll be comforted to know that the DNA is retrieved conveniently and painlessly from a home mail-in saliva test kit.
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POPSThe ADHD Advantage: Did the “Hyper” Gene Benefit Our Nomadic Ancestors? "So, in other words, all of us with ADHD need to head back to the desert with a pack of camels loaded up with tents to really make the most of our “disorder” (how dare they call it that when it turns out it’s an evolutionary advantage unless you’re a semi-comatose couch potatoes). Of course half of us will absent-mindedly forget to bring essentials—like water—but we’ll have a lot of fun. Who’s with me?"
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POPSClues To Ancestral Origin Of Placenta Emerge In Genetics Study They found that the placenta develops in two distinct stages. In the first stage, which runs from the beginning of pregnancy through mid-gestation, the placental cells primarily activate genes that mammals have in common with birds and reptiles. This suggests that the placenta initially evolved through repurposing genes the early mammals inherited from their immediate ancestors when they arose more than 120 million years ago.
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