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.
Mixing Genomics and Proteomics to Fight Cancer
July 09, 2008
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's Kimberly Stegmaier led a study published yesterday in PNAS that uses a "signature-based screening approach" to identify hits in neuroblastoma treatment. Her team used gene expression analysis to screen a small molecule library, and the top hit was all-trans-retinoic acid. They found that by combining this with an HDAC inhibitor increased neuroblastoma differentiation, which is typically abnormal in this pediatric cancer.
