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.
Guess This Means We'll Have to Stop Lying About Our Age
November 20, 2008
To uncover genes associated with aging, researchers led by Simon Melov gathered whole-genome expression profiles from 104 C. elegans specimens over the course of their lives. The individual worms were then scored for age-related phenotypes to determine which transcriptional profiles are associated with physiological or chronological age. "This is the first evidence that physiological age can be predicted non-subjectively. This is a first step; our results were not perfect, but we were able to predict the ages of the animals 70 percent of the time, which is far better than anything that has been done before," says Melov in this HealthDay story. The results were reported in Aging Cell.
