Thursday, July 14, 2011
A DNA-sequencing algorithm co-developed by Stephan Schuster, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State, and Ji Qi and Fangqing Zhao, who were Penn State postdoctoral fellows on the research team, has received top honors in a competition for new software developments in next-generation DNA sequencing. The biotechnology company Illumina awarded Schuster and his co-authors the first-place academic-category price, which included a monetary award, for their inGAP (Integrated Next-generation Genome Analysis Pipeline) software. Illumina's iDEA (Data Excellence Award) Challenge is "a program designed to challenge the scientific community to develop new and creative visualization and data-analysis techniques." (more)
Monday, June 27, 2011
A revolutionary species-preservation approach based on whole-genome analyses of two Tasmanian devils -- one that had died of a contagious cancer known as Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD) and one healthy animal -- has been used to develop a theoretical model to predict which individuals would need to be kept in captivity to maximize chances of preserving enough genetic diversity for the species to survive.
The research helps to formulate one possible plan of action to prevent the extinction of the Tasmanian devil -- a marsupial found in the wild exclusively in the Australian island-state of Tasmania. The research model also may be extended to other endangered species. (more)
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
A rare, ancient polar bear fossil discovered in Norway in 2004 is yielding a treasure trove of essential information about the age and evolutionary origins of the species. A paper published in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by researchers at Penn State, the University at Buffalo, the University of Oslo and other institutions is filling in key pieces of the evolutionary history of polar bears and brown bears, including their response to past climate changes. (more)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Human genomes from Southern African Bushmen and a Bantu individual, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, have been sequenced by a team of scientists seeking a greater understanding of human genetic variation and its effect on human health. The team is led by Stephan Schuster at Penn State University in the United States and Vanessa Hayes at the University of New South Wales in Australia. Human genomics is a powerful and rapidly emerging medical resource. The scientists say they need to learn the full range of human genetic variation in order to learn how genes affect health, and that Southern Africa is the place to look. (more)
