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Tiny Genetic Differences between Humans and Other Primates Pervade the Genome

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See Inside Genome comparisons reveal the DNA that distinguishes from its kin Aug 19, 2014 | | In 1871 Charles Darwin surmised that humans were evolutionarily closer to the African apes than to any other species alive. The recent sequencing of the gorilla, chimpanzee and bonobo genomes confirms that supposition and provides a clearer view of how we are connected: chimps and bonobos in particular take pride of place as our nearest living relatives, sharing approximately 99 percent of our DNA, with gorillas trailing at 98 percent. Yet that tiny portion of unshared DNA makes a world of difference: it gives us, for instance, our bipedal stance and the ability to plan missions to Mars. Scientists do not yet know how most of the DNA that is uniquely ours affects gene function. But they can conduct whole-genome analyses—with intriguing results. For example, comparing the 33 percent of our genome that codes for proteins with our relatives' genomes reveals that although the sum total of ou...
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Dandruff-Causing Skin Fungi Discovered Unexpectedly in Deep Sea Vents, Antarctica

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Malassezia lipophilis by Janice Haney Carr. CDC Public Health Image Library Image 218. Public domain. Until relatively recently, the fungus was thought to have one favorite home: us. As the dominant fungus on human skin and sometimes-cause of dandruff, the yeast was thought to live a simple if sometimes irritating domestic existence humbly mooching off the oils we exude. No more. Thanks to the efforts of scientists over the last 10 years, we have discovered that our sweet little skin fungus is actually a cosmpolitan extremophile as at home on your scalp as in deep-sea sediments, hydrothermal vents, stony corals, lobster larvae guts, Japanese eel gut and muscle tissue, Antarctic soils, the exoskeleton of soil , and various plant roots including orchids, who are known for being picky about their root fungi. The ribosomal DNA sequences — sections often used to gauge relatedness of species — of the in all these places is “nearly identical” to that found on humans. In the figure below fro...
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Vexed Issue of Gene Editing to Be Tackled by International Experts

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Scientists from the U.S., China and Britain will come together to discuss the future of the technique, which holds great promise for treating diseases  September 14, 2015 | By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists from the United States, China and Britain will come together to discuss the future of human gene editing, which holds great promise for treating diseases but also has the potential to create "designer babies." The Chinese Academy of Sciences and Britain's Royal Society said on Monday they would join the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in co-hosting an international summit on the topic in Washington on Dec. 1-3. The technology, called CRISPR-Cas9, allows scientists to edit genes by using genetic "scissors" that operate a bit like a biological word-processing program that can find and replace defects. CRISPR has excited academic researchers and drug companies alike, since it may allow them to rewrite the DNA of diseased cells. But it has ...
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