Jul 2010
The Sound of Genetics
31/07/10 14:51 Filed in: GenomeWeb Daily Scan
The Wellcome Trust has funded a project to investigate the genetic determinants of musical ability, which has included the composition by Michael Zev and presentation by the New London Chamber Choir (NLCC) of a new choral work called 'Allele,' which is based on DNA sequence data from the 41 members of the NLCC. S. Pelech thinks that using DNA sequences is about as meaningful for composing a symphony or choral work as using stock market quotations, sport statistics or actuary data as inspirational sources, and wonders whether this is an appropriate choice for Wellcome Trust funding. Read More...
Too Much to Read
21/07/10 16:53 Filed in: GenomeWeb Daily Scan
Blogger Pedro Beltrao at Public Rambling noted that 848,865 papers were added to PubMed in 2009, and he says that there needs to be improvements in how researchers are able to find the publications that are particular important to them. S. Pelech proposes that we need to completely re-think and re-engineer how we disseminate the data from scientific research so that it is more efficiently found and utilized in databases that are directly queryable. Read More...
Ain't Nothing Gonna Break My Stride
20/07/10 15:19 Filed in: GenomeWeb Daily Scan
Nicholas Wade at the New York Times highlighted some studies that point to natural selection-driven, relatively recent genetic changes in human groups. S. Pelech points out that selective breeding in a relatively small number of generations can lead to profound changes in the appearance and physiology in animals, and eventually we will likely be genetically engineering human genomes to get rid of deleterious mutations and make further improvements, including adaptation to alien environments and cyborg acclimation. Read More...
New Blog on the Block
14/07/10 15:30 Filed in: GenomeWeb Daily Scan
Genomes Unzipped is a new blog site that aims to provide independent and informed analysis of developments in the field of genetics, with a particular focus on implications for the budding industry of personal genomics. S. Pelech welcomes more critical analyses in this area, especially since only about 3% of the human genome actually encodes proteins and other recognizable RNA elements such as tRNA, rRNA and microRNA, and the rest is probably filler or "junk" DNA. He argues that the current euphoria and focus on genome sequencing in thousands of humans and hundreds of other species will lead to a major diversion of funding and research that will be insufficient to support the delivery of personalized medicine. Read More...
What to Do About Review
13/07/10 14:38 Filed in: GenomeWeb Daily Scan
Blogger Glyn Moody at Open … argues that in the Internet age it may be unnecessary to have pre-publication peer-review of a scientific paper if scientists are able to provide a rating of its content post-publication, whereas blogger Deepak Singh feels that while there are problems with the existing peer-review system, it can be a source of advice that improves the quality of science. With diminishing quality of peer-review, in part due to reviewer fatigue, S. Pelech observes that the best science is no longer necessarily funded and much of the published science is incremental, redundant and flawed. Read More...
What About Hedgehog, Buttonhead, and Bride of Sevenless?
09/07/10 03:06 Filed in: GenomeWeb Daily Scan
Blogger Norman Johnson at Watching the Detectives dissected "the art and science of naming genes" and suggests that while "standardization has its place," the colorful naming of fly genes allows for easier recall of the genes, which leads to better communication between scientists. S. Pelech suspects that it also serves politically to flag the these gene as yet other examples of fly genes that have counterparts in humans and other species. However, these genes are more often than not regulated quite distinctly and have different substrates and functions depending on the species. Read More...
The Evolution of Evolution
02/07/10 21:19 Filed in: GenomeWeb Daily Scan
Dan Jones at the New Scientist wondered whether the capacity for evolutionary innovation is built into the fabric of life and if such "evolvability" is reflected in an organism's ability to adapt to its environment that can be passed down to subsequent generations. S. Pelech proposes that enhancements of one or more levels of "hierarchical intelligence" - molecular, cellular or social - may play a central role in the development of evolvability. Read More...