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Finally, a DNA Barcode for Plants

Jul 29, 2009

After four years, an international group of scientists has come to an agreement on a standard DNA barcode for plants, reports Scientific American. In PNAS, the Consortium for the Barcode of Life Plant Working Group suggests using the matK and rbcL genes. With this barcode, 72 percent of plant species could be classified appropriately and the rest were assigned to closely related species.

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The Scan

Pig Organ Transplants Considered

The Wall Street Journal reports that the US Food and Drug Administration may soon allow clinical trials that involve transplanting pig organs into humans.

'Poo-Bank' Proposal

Harvard Medical School researchers suggest people should bank stool samples when they are young to transplant when they later develop age-related diseases.

Spurred to Develop Again

New Scientist reports that researchers may have uncovered why about 60 percent of in vitro fertilization embryos stop developing.

Science Papers Examine Breast Milk Cell Populations, Cerebral Cortex Cellular Diversity, Micronesia Population History

In Science this week: unique cell populations found within breast milk, 100 transcriptionally distinct cell populations uncovered in the cerebral cortex, and more.