Genome
Coelacanth genome surfaces
An international team of researchers has decoded the genome of a creature whose evolutionary history is both enigmatic and illuminating: the African coelacanth
Tags: African coelacanth, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, coelacanth genome, Evolution, Fish, Genome, HarvardScience, Jessica Alföldi, Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, Life Sciences
Posted in African coelacanth, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, coelacanth genome, Evolution, Fish, Genome, HarvardScience, Jessica Alföldi, Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, Life Sciences | Comments Off
One cell is all you need
Scientists at Harvard have pioneered a breakthrough technique that can reproduce an individual’s entire genome from a single cell. The development could revolutionize everything from cancer treatment, by allowing doctors to obtain a genetic fingerprint of a person’s cancer early in treatment, to prenatal testing.
Tags: Alec Chapman, Cell, Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Chenghang Zong, DNA, DNA amplification, DNA Sequencing, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, FAS, Genome, Harvard, HarvardScience, Life Sciences, MALBAC, Multiple Annealing and Looping-based Amplification Cycles, Mutation, Peter Reuell, Sijia Lu, Xiaoliang Sunney Xie
Posted in Alec Chapman, Cell, Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Chenghang Zong, DNA, DNA amplification, DNA Sequencing, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, FAS, Genome, Harvard, HarvardScience, Life Sciences, MALBAC, Multiple Annealing and Looping-based Amplification Cycles, Mutation, Peter Reuell, Sijia Lu, Xiaoliang Sunney Xie | Comments Off
So doggone complicated
Geneticist Elaine Ostrander runs a comparative-genomics lab that examines dog DNA to understand better the traits that might aid understanding of human diseases.
Tags: Alvin Powell, Comparative genetics laboratory, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, DNA, Dog breeds, Dogs, Elaine Ostrander, Genes, Genome, HarvardScience, Heidi Parker, Life Sciences, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health
Posted in Alvin Powell, Comparative genetics laboratory, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, DNA, Dog breeds, Dogs, Elaine Ostrander, Genes, Genome, HarvardScience, Heidi Parker, Life Sciences, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health | Comments Off
‘Stealing’ life’s building blocks
Researchers have found that a parasitic flower takes large portions of its genetic code from its host, and that some genes borrowed by the flowers may even be functional. The surprising finding suggests that the process may convey some evolutionary advantage to the flowers.
Tags: Charles Davis, Corpse flower, Evolution, Extremophiles, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, FAS, Gene, Genome, Genomics, Harvard, HarvardScience, Horizontal gene transfer, Host, Life Sciences, Parasite, Peter Reuell, Vertical gene transfer, Zhenxiang Xi
Posted in Charles Davis, Corpse flower, Evolution, Extremophiles, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, FAS, Gene, Genome, Genomics, Harvard, HarvardScience, Horizontal gene transfer, Host, Life Sciences, Parasite, Peter Reuell, Vertical gene transfer, Zhenxiang Xi | Comments Off
A boost to international learning
Eight faculty led programs designed to give students international experience have received grants from the President’s Innovation Fund for International Experiences.
Tags: Alain Viel, Alfonso Caramazza, Alvin Powell, Amitabh Chandra, Anne Harrington, Asim Khwaja, Awards, Brad Epps, Campus & Community, Caroline Buckee, Chile, China, David Cutler, Drew Faust, Dyann Wirth, Genome, George Alvarez, Germany, Harvard Summer School, international development, Italy, John Assad, Malaria, Manoj Duraisingh, Peter Burgard, Peter Girguis, President’s Innovation Fund for International Experience, Rema Hanna, Rob Lue, Rohini Pande, Sergio Delgado, Shanghai, Study Abroad
Posted in Alain Viel, Alfonso Caramazza, Alvin Powell, Amitabh Chandra, Anne Harrington, Asim Khwaja, Awards, Brad Epps, Campus & Community, Caroline Buckee, Chile, China, David Cutler, Drew Faust, Dyann Wirth, Genome, George Alvarez, Germany, Harvard Summer School, international development, Italy, John Assad, Malaria, Manoj Duraisingh, Peter Burgard, Peter Girguis, President’s Innovation Fund for International Experience, Rema Hanna, Rob Lue, Rohini Pande, Sergio Delgado, Shanghai, Study Abroad | Comments Off
Vivid details
A landmark effort to sequence the genome of the butterfly Heliconius melpomene has revealed that it shares genes that control color patterns with two species that closely mimic its appearance — Heliconius timareta and Heliconius elevatus — suggesting that all three exchange genes as a result of occasional hybridization.
Tags: Butterfly, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, FAS, Genome, genome sequencing, HarvardScience, Heliconius elevatus, Heliconius Genome Consortium, Heliconius melpomene, Heliconius timareta, Hybrid, Hybridization, James Mallet, Life Sciences, Peter Reuell
Posted in Butterfly, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, FAS, Genome, genome sequencing, HarvardScience, Heliconius elevatus, Heliconius Genome Consortium, Heliconius melpomene, Heliconius timareta, Hybrid, Hybridization, James Mallet, Life Sciences, Peter Reuell | Comments Off
The whys of religion vs. evolution
University of Chicago evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne says that dysfunction within American society promotes high levels of religious belief that in turn blocks general acceptance of evolutionary theories.
Tags: Alvin Powell, Culture & Society, Darwin, Evolution, Evolution Matters, Genome, God, Harvard Museum of Natural History, HarvardScience, Jerry Coyne, Religion
Posted in Alvin Powell, Culture & Society, Darwin, Evolution, Evolution Matters, Genome, God, Harvard Museum of Natural History, HarvardScience, Jerry Coyne, Religion | Comments Off