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.
Stupid Science Tricks
April 23, 2009
You know a blog post is going to be good when there's a phrase like this: "The beaker had ruptured and the hot acid had ignited a roll of tissue paper." Sciencebase's David Bradley blogs about "stupid things people have done in the lab," relying on colleagues and readers to offer up their own embarrassing stories. One researcher reported, "I came back from holiday to find that new PhD students had helpfully washed all the laboratory plasticware, but unfortunately had then used a ‘drying’ oven to dry and needless to say produced a molten mass of plastic." Another scientist "revealed how her gel to nitrocellulose transfers improved no end when she learned that she needed to put them between the electrodes, not on top." There are several great anecdotes here, so check out the full post.
