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Bigger Team

The US Food and Drug Administration may soon be able to add some 10 members to its inspection team in China, Pharmalot reports. The agency currently has one inspector based there as others became tangled up in visa snarls. Pharmalot's Ed Silverman notes that other inspectors have been working in China, though on a short-term basis

UPI notes that the agreement came about as part of US Vice President Joe Biden's trip to the region.

"China today agreed to increase the number — increase the visas supplied for these inspectors, and we'll reach agreement in January 2014 on how that will be operationalized," a senior US administration official tells UPI. "But I know that the FDA will be very pleased."

The Scan

Foxtail Millet Pangenome, Graph-Based Reference Genome

Researchers in Nature Genetics described their generation of a foxtail millet pangenome, which they say can help in crop trait improvement.

Protein Length Distribution Consistent Across Species

An analysis in Genome Biology compares the lengths of proteins across more than 2,300 species, finding similar length distributions.

Novel Genetic Loci Linked to Insulin Resistance in New Study

A team reports in Nature Genetics that it used glucose challenge test data to home in on candidate genes involved in GLUT4 expression or trafficking.

RNA Editing in Octopuses Seems to Help Acclimation to Shifts in Water Temperature

A paper in Cell reports that octopuses use RNA editing to help them adjust to different water temperatures.