Genome Engineering

Twitter hits a thousand!

Suzanne Elvidge — Fri, 25 May 2012 06:42:19 +0000

Genome Engineering's Twitter followers have just reached 1000! If you would like to hear about Genome Engineering posts as they are published, or get tweets on other DNA and gene-related topics of interest, follow us on Twitter @genomengin.

A Friday lunchtime treat – Lab Bratz science web comic

Suzanne Elvidge — Fri, 25 May 2012 04:00:27 +0000

Lab Bratz is "the science comic your lab-mates are reading behind your back while pretending to be doing literature searches on PubMed."

Hints & tips: EJHG Clinical Utility Gene Cards

Suzanne Elvidge — Sun, 20 May 2012 10:49:05 +0000

European Journal of Human Genetics has free to access clinical utility gene cards, from MUTYH-associated polyposis (MAP), autosomal recessive colorectal adenomatous polyposis to von Willebrand disease. These are designed for "all those concerned with defining reasonable indications for genetic testing for hereditary conditions in real settings of clinical genetic services".

Hints & tips: EJHG Practical Genetics series

Suzanne Elvidge — Sun, 20 May 2012 10:41:02 +0000

European Journal of Human Genetics has a free to access Practical Genetics series, which delivers a one–stop–shop information resource for genetics clinicians.

Mapping the sense of smell

Suzanne Elvidge — Sat, 19 May 2012 12:26:32 +0000

Our sense of smell comes from the control of around 300 olfactory receptor genes, allowing each sensory neuron to detect a small number of different components of smell, or odorants. Researchers at RIKEN have mapped the odorant receptors in mice, finding the promoter sequences that control the genes. The research was published in Genome Research.

Genome Engineering on Twitter

Suzanne Elvidge — Sat, 19 May 2012 08:59:02 +0000

Genome Engineering is on Twitter - and we are getting close to a thousand followers. Join us on Twitter @GenomeEngineering and help us to get to four figures, and get links to blog posts as soon as they are published, as well as other interesting and useful links. See you there in the Twittersphere!

Rare genetic variants aren’t actually – rare, that is

Suzanne Elvidge — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:51:52 +0000

Rare variants are more common than we thought. Now, this is getting confusing – some genetic variants are rare (maybe only one or a few people in the population has this variant), but researchers have found that there are a lot more different rare variants than was suspected. Any clearer? Hmmm… let's try again.

Science Parody of the Year 2012

Suzanne Elvidge — Fri, 18 May 2012 04:00:19 +0000

It's Friday again – have a look at BioTechniques' Lab Grammys 2012: Science Parody of the Year (with thanks to American Biotechnologist).

Four bases in RNA? Think again…

Suzanne Elvidge — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:00:22 +0000

Back in school, I was taught that DNA was made up of four bases – A (adenine), T (thymine), C (cytosine) and G (guanine), but research has shown that this isn't quite that simple – since then, researchers have found a fifth, a fake fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth bases, as well as creating a bacterial genome that uses an artificial base, 5-chlorouracil. Now it seems that messenger RNA (mRNA) also has surprises with a modification to one of its bases that could affect how genes are expressed. The research was published in Cell.

Is your well-being down to your genes?

Suzanne Elvidge — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:00:38 +0000

While traits like well-being and success are never going to be down to a single gene, and while they will always involve hard work, environment and simple luck as well, recent research from the University of Edinburgh has suggested that there is an influence from the genes too, and that it is stronger than previously thought.