Human Genetic Variation Alters Anthrax Toxin Sensitivity
Martchenko, Candille et al., PNAS
Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine show that genetic variation affecting capillary morphogenesis gene 2, or CMG2, dramatically alters toxin sensitivity in humans. In its analysis, the team reports on "a CMG2 single-nucleotide polymorphism occurring frequently in African and European populations [that they found] independently altered toxin uptake." The group goes on to suggest "testing of genomically characterized human cell populations may offer a broadly useful strategy for elucidating effects of genetic variation on infectious disease susceptibility."
Python for HPC Tutorial
December 10, 2009
For those Python users out there who were unable to attend last month's SC09 in Portland, OR, the folks at Argonne National Laboratory have just posted the content of their tutorial session entitled Python for HPC and Scientific Computing. The tutorial covers the Python language and interpreter basics, modules and packages for scientific applications, tricks and tips on improving performance, integrating C and Fortran, and much more. There is also an interactive self-test and list of survey questions to help you bone up.
And for loyal fans of Matlab harboring a curiosity about Python, there’s a post from the Programming4Scientists blog that provides some food for thought if you're considering making the switch.