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.
New Stem Cell Lines Approved
December 03, 2009
New embryonic stem cell lines have been approved for use in federally-funded research in the US. Of these 13 new lines, 11 were made by Harvard Stem Cell Institute's George Daley and the other two by Rockefeller University's Ali Brivanlou. Both researchers used private funds for that work. "I am happy to say that we now have human embryonic stem cell lines eligible for use by our research community under our new stem cell policy," says Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, according to Agence France Presse. According to the Washington Post, 20 more lines may be approved for use as early as Friday and another 76 are also under consideration. "This is the first down payment on what is going to be a much longer list that will empower the scientific community to explore the potential of embryonic stem cell research," Collins adds in the Post.
