Sequencing and Analysis of the Hydra Genome
Chapman, Kirkness et al., Nature
An international research collaboration reports their sequencing and analysis of the Hydra magnipapillata genome, and compare it to the genomes of several other organisms. "The Hydra genome has been shaped by bursts of transposable element expansion, horizontal gene transfer, trans-splicing, and simplification of gene structure and gene content that parallel simplification of the Hydra life cycle," the authors write. They team suggests that comparisons of the Hydra genome to the reported sequences of other animals have helped them to elucidate the evolution of several of the organism's characteristics.
And Trakr, Too
June 18, 2009
Trakr, the German shepherd who located the last Sept. 11 survivor in New York, was cloned by BioArts International (of MissyToo fame) after Trakr's owner James Symington, a former Canadian police officer, entered an essay contest. The cloning was led by Hwang Woo-Suk (whose work in cloning dogs has held up) at the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation in South Korea and resulted in five puppies from their surrogate mothers, born between last December and April. Symington says that if the pups have Trakr's abilities, he will train them to also be search-and-rescue dogs. As for Trakr, he died two months ago at the age of 16.
