KCTD13 a Driver of Neurodevelopmental Phenotypes Associated with the 16p11.2 CNV
Golzio, Willer et al., Nature
An international team led by investigators at Duke University shows that KCTD13 "is a major driver for the neurodevelopmental phenotypes associated with the 16p11.2 CNV [copy-number variant]," a finding that it says substantiates "the idea that one or a small number of transcripts within a CNV can underpin clinical phenotypes, and offer an efficient route to identifying dosage-sensitive loci."
Thinking Big About Something Small
September 03, 2010
Microbiologists like to say that 99 percent of bacteria can't be cultured in a lab, and the saying drives Mike the Mad Biologist "up a wall." The problem, Mike says, is that microbiologists aren't being creative enough when it comes to finding way to grow bacteria. When he was a postdoc, Mike did a simple comparison using standard rich lab medium and a home-brew low nutrient agar to grow some microbes, and found that his special plates had 20 to 40 times as many bugs as the standard plates. These days, one of the side benefits of the Human Microbiome Project is that researchers are getting very creative in their methods to grow human bacteria, as well as waiting longer than would be usual for normal cultures. "These are very cool results, and I hope they put the 99 percent of bacteria are unculturable myth to rest," Mike says. "Seriously, have some pride, fellow microbiologists, and be clever when you isolate."