New Yorker Cartoon: Lab Rat

Funny little animated cartoon on lab rats from The New Yorker.

Ashley M.

Twin study surveys genome for cause of multiple sclerosis

From Nature News April 28, 2010:

http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100428/full/4641259a.html

What we left off the last class thinking about was how does a disease in one identical twin appear and not in another? The answer is still unclear, but the article addresses the genetic sequence, the variation in epigenome, and environmental factors that may have lead one twin to develop MS and not the other.



-Brie

The Search for Genes Leads to Unexpected Places

Great NYT article about five genes that are known to help build blood vessels which are closely related to five genes that yeast cells use to fix their cell walls.

-India

Epigenetics, gene expression, and disease

I found a great website with animations outlining epigenetics and its role on gene expression, specifically illustrating how cancer cells form.

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/epigenetics/



-Brie

SPLICE

"I've often wondered what Mary Shelley's Frankenstein would have been like if it had been rewritten by Charles Darwin and turned into a movie by David Cronenberg. Now I do not have to wonder! It would probably be a lot like Splice, a delightfully twisted horror thriller from Vincenzo Natali, director of 1997's sci-fi nightmare Cube."

-Eric D. Snider

Full Review

Synopsis:

Two young scientists (Brody and Polley) achieve fame by splicing human DNA with the DNA of different animals to create a new creature. In the process they ignore their society's ethical and legal boundaries. The scientists name their creature "Dren", which is initially a deformed female infant. However, it rapidly develops into a beautiful but deadly winged human-chimera.

>> watch trailer here <<

I think this movie will give rise to interesting ethical debates regarding human cloning.

- Cindy

Scientists Create Embryo From Three People

Embryos containing DNA from a man and two women have been created by scientists at Newcastle University.

They say their research, published in the journal Nature, has the potential to help mothers with rare genetic disorders have healthy children....for more

_Ashley T

Can Animals Be Gay?

The question of homosexuality in animals has recently rearisen with the discovery that albatross, the bird with the lowest "divorce" rate, do not pair up exclusively heterosexually. This brings into question the idea that homosexuallity is a genetically inherited trait or whether it is environmentally founded. The term animal homosexuality is one that might not even be able to be used because it applies human traits to animals

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/magazine/04animals-t.html

- Tess

Animal Regeneration

The parallels of regenerative biology throughout the animal kingdom could unlock the differences in human regeneration, such as skin cells and animals such as the Paranais litoralis which can grow its limbs back. This relates to pluripotency within Therapeutic cloning

- Tess

http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2010/02/09/unlocking-the-secrets-of-animal-regeneration.html

60 Minutes: New Link In Evolution

Watch Video Here

The fossilized skull and bones found by a boy with his scientist father are the discovery of a lifetime and may prove to be a new link in the human evolutionary chain.

Ashley M.