Stories indexed under: Genetics

Total: 33   RSS feed

• UW geneticist James Crow passes away Jan. 6, 2012 The UW-Madison community is mourning the loss of a legend: James F. Crow, professor emeritus of genetics, who passed away peacefully at his home on Jan. 4, two weeks shy of his 96th birthday.
• Jumping gene enabled key step in corn domestication Sept. 25, 2011 In seeking to better understand how teosinte gave rise to corn, a scientific team has pinpointed one of the key genetic changes that paved the way for corn's domestication.
• Mouse genome sequences reveal variability, complex evolutionary history Sept. 15, 2011 The genome of even a single organism is packed with information. A new paper, building on recent advances in sequencing capability, now reports the complete genomes of 17 different strains of mice, creating an unparalleled genetic resource that will aid studies ranging from human disease to evolution.
• 500 years ago, yeast’s epic journey gave rise to lager beer Aug. 22, 2011 In the 15th century, when Europeans first began moving people and goods across the Atlantic, a microscopic stowaway somehow made its way to the caves and monasteries of Bavaria.
• Conference takes next step in genetic analysis July 15, 2011 Now that the human genome has been deciphered, many scientists are turning to study the myriad proteins that are encoded in tens of thousands of genes - a field called proteomics.
• UW-Madison scientists played role in potato genome project July 10, 2011 University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists are part of an international consortium that has successfully sequenced and analyzed the potato genome.
• UW-Madison geneticist elected to National Academy of Sciences May 3, 2011 Ching Kung, Vilas Professor of Genetics and Molecular Biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences today in recognition of his "distinguished and continuing achievements in original research."
• Leafcutter ant genome reveals secrets of fungus farming ways Feb. 10, 2011 Leafcutter ants, signature denizens of New World tropical forests, are unique in their ability to harvest fresh leaves to cultivate a nutrient-rich fungus as food.
• Scientists ferret out a key pathway for aging Nov. 18, 2010 A team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and their colleagues describe a molecular pathway that is a key determinant of the aging process.
• ‘Condor’ brings genome assembly down to Earth July 19, 2010 Borrowing computing power from idle sources will help geneticists sidestep the multimillion-dollar cost of reconstituting the flood of data produced by next-generation genome-sequencing machines.
• Sweet corn story begins in UW-Madison lab Nov. 19, 2009 This week, scientists are revealing the genetic instructions inside corn, one of the big three cereal crops. Corn, or maize, has one of the most complex sequences of DNA ever analyzed, says University of Wisconsin-Madison genomicist David Schwartz, who was one of more than 100 authors in the article in the journal Science.
• Now hear this: Mouse study sheds light on hearing loss in older adults Nov. 9, 2009 Becoming "hard of hearing" is a standard but unfortunate part of aging: A syndrome called age-related hearing loss affects about 40 percent of people over 65 in the United States, and will afflict an estimated 28 million Americans by 2030.
• War of the viruses: Could ancient virus genes help fight modern AIDS? Oct. 20, 2009 Almost 30 years into the AIDS epidemic, scientists have yet to find an effective vaccine against HIV, the virus that destroys the immune system and causes AIDS. HIV is perhaps the most adaptive virus ever seen, not only evading the immune system, but also antiviral medicines.
• Evolution-exploration saga on short list for National Book Award Oct. 20, 2009 "Remarkable Creatures," by University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of genetics Sean Carroll, has been named a finalist in the nonfiction category of the National Book Award.
• New Wisconsin Center of Excellence in Genomics Science established Sept. 28, 2009 The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) of the National Institutes of Health today (Sept. 28) announced an $8 million, three-year grant to establish a Wisconsin Center of Excellence in Genomics Science.
• Potato blight reveals some secrets as genome is decoded Sept. 9, 2009 Late blight caused the 19th century famine that sparked a wave of emigration from Ireland to the United States, but the disease has also infected tomatoes and potatoes this year. Potatoes, the world's fourth-largest food crop, were raised on 65,500 acres in Wisconsin in 2007. If a potato field is not treated with pesticide, late blight can destroy the crop in a few days.
• Sequencing effort to chart ants and their ecosystem June 26, 2009 Nestled within the twisting fungus gardens of leaf-cutter ants exists a complex symbiotic web that has evolved over millions of years. Now, with the help of a major genomic sequencing grant from Roche Applied Science, scientists at UW-Madison will be able to analyze these interactions at the molecular scale.
• ‘Motorized’ DNA opens door to autonomous molecular experiments April 17, 2009 Using the same protein molecule that scientists have used for decades to copy genetic material, researchers have developed a molecular motor for propelling DNA.
• Chemistry meets biology at screening center Feb. 26, 2009 When University of Wisconsin-Madison bacteriologist Nancy Keller and her team managed to genetically trick fungi into making metabolic byproducts that are notoriously difficult for scientists to get at, she wondered if the substances might have any clinically useful properties.
• Intrepid explorers and the search for the origin of species Feb. 12, 2009 A UW-Madison professor of genetics will give the plenary lecture at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science on Friday, Feb. 13.