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.
Myriad Genetics' Lab Head to Retire; Director Steps Down
February 03, 2010
The head of Myriad Genetics' lab business will retire, the company said yesterday, according to a report in the Associated Press.
Greg Critchfield, who has been with the Salt Lake City-based company for 11 years, "will retire … to focus on philanthropy."
He will be replaced by Mark Capone, chief operating officer of the unit. Capone, who has been with Myriad for more than seven years, has been responsible for managing its sales force and laboratory operations.
Meantime, a story in Business Week online said yesterday that Myriad director Mark Skolnick will step down from the board, "but will remain with the company as a part-time employee in the capacity of senior scientist emeritus." He has been a director of the company since 1991.
The departures were reported as part of the company's fiscal second-quarter earning release. Here's a GenomeWeb News brief on that report, as well as its article on the latest development in the ACLU's lawsuit against Myriad and the US Patent and Trademark Office over its BRCA1 and 2 gene patents.
