Molecular Genetics

(submitted by JH) The lone star state of Texas unwittingly set off a firestorm of controversy by collecting 800 samples of blood from new borns. The samples were to be part of a new study and database of mitochondrial DNA. The intent was to provide information for forensic science and other studies of variation, but after public outcry, the state has promised to destroy the samples.
However, this may not quell the fears of many. Some of whom may opt to not have their new borns genetically tested for known diseases; increasing the likelihood of delayed treatment.

(submitted by AB) Imagine a world where pigeons and squirrels frolic about campus. The occasional feral cat dashing across west mall. Rove herds of woolly mammoths grazing around the MLK statue…

It seems that the genome of the extinct mammoth has been sequenced. This will allow scientists to compare the sequences with modern elephants to study differences that might shed light on their origins and their demise.
Several new techniques were employed including isolating the DNA from only the hair of mammoth mummies. In doing this, contaminating DNA from bacteria and fungi can easily be eliminated. The hair follicles serve to protect the DNA also.

It may be possible clone portions of the mammoth’s DNA and swap it in to elephant DNA using homologous recombination. With successive generations, we could repopulate Sarahpalinia with mammoths to support the hunting tourism industry. Molecular genetics at its best.

This is a fascinating story of a gene fusion event. Last year, in a paper published in PNAS in collaboration with Richard Cordaux (now at the University of Poitiers, France) and Mark Batzer (LSU), the authors reconstructed the evolutionary history of a primate fusion gene called SETMAR. It serves as a good introduction to the kind of questions that arise from molecular genomics and the study of mobile DNA It will also provide an example of how transposons and other forms of so-called ‘junk DNA’ can, on occasions, make themselves useful in the genome. Finally this is a story that generated quite a bit of discussion on the web including theology, GM foods, and evolution.

1) Have a friend get this tattoo on their back.
2) Sit behind them.
3) Make sure that they don’t wear a shirt that day.

I expect no less dedication to the studmuffin of all molecules from each of you.

Scientists are extracting DNA from the dense coats of woolly mammoths in an effort to learn more about them.

Mammoths are extinct, of course. No one knows if the cause was climate change, hungry Neanderthals or something else — but they left behind remains, often frozen in the tundra. Attempts have been made to sequence their DNA from frozen animals, but that can be complicated by contamination. Researchers report in Friday’s edition of the journal Science, however, that mammoth hair seems to be an excellent source of well-preserved DNA.

“It is important to understand the genetic makeup of an organism before it went extinct,” explained lead researcher Stephan C. Schuster of Penn State University. “We want to use this to sequence (the DNA from) museum specimens and therefore help to understand the evolution of species by using museum collections that date back several hundred years,” Schuster said.

Indeed, the technique could be used to measure the DNA from specimens collected by such naturalists as Charles Darwin, Alexander von Humboldt and Carl Linnaeus.

Here is an opinion page about the insertion of human genes into GM crops. In theory, we have been modifying our food crops genetically for thousands of years, but we are at the dawn of a new era– in the past we have selected for advantageous traits or genes found in plants, but now we just install the ones that we want with a particular twist: they may come from an entirely different organism. These are “transgenic” organisms, not arising from evolutionary processes, but rather by design… intelligent or not.
This link is from the parent page which is a special report from NewScientist with many articles on genetically modified foods.

Massachusetts has passed… “An Act Relative to Insurance and Genetic Testing and Privacy Protection” that makes it discriminatory for an insurance company or employer to use genetic information in any way.

What is “genetic information”? Any written, recorded individually identifiable result of a genetic test or explanation of such a result or family history pertaining to the presence, absence, variation, alteration, or modification of a human gene or genes.

What is the purpose of this law?

Read more

Did Texas Execute an Innocent Man?
A Texas judge on Monday blocked officials from destroying biological evidence in the case of Claude Jones, who was executed in 2000. DNA testing on a hair from the scene of a 1989 murder for which Jones was executed could prove whether he was guilty or innocent, and the judge set an Oct. hearing to decide whether to conduct DNA testing.
The Innocence Project works to employ DNA testing to reverse injustices– sometimes in deathrow cases.