Freethought & Rationalism Archive

MrDarwin · 08-04-2002, 05:17 PM

<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43232-2002Aug4.html" target="_blank">Scientists Map Mouse Genome </a>

This is pretty big news, because it will allow us to compare the human genome with that of another mammal, gene by gene.

Quote:

Humans and mice last shared a common ancestor – probably a small rodentlike mammal – roughly 100 million years ago, but today retain similar-sized genomes and many of the same genes. That makes mice ideal stand-ins for humans in genetic studies.

My prediction is that humans and mice (and all mammals) will prove to have pretty much all the same genes, but with different versions of those genes, acting in slightly different ways.

lpetrich · 08-04-2002, 06:16 PM

Mice are good stand-ins for another reason: they are small, fast-breeding, and easy to raise in labs. That's why there's been much more experimental work on mice than (say) elephants.

And as work continues on the cow, pig, dog, and cat genomes, I'm sure that they will turn out to have a similar amount of genetic distance from the human genome.

Starboy · 08-04-2002, 07:37 PM

That is soooo cooool! Go molecular biophysicists!

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08-04-2002, 06:16 PM	#2
lpetrich Contributor Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Lebanon, OR, USA Posts: 16,829	Mice are good stand-ins for another reason: they are small, fast-breeding, and easy to raise in labs. That's why there's been much more experimental work on mice than (say) elephants. And as work continues on the cow, pig, dog, and cat genomes, I'm sure that they will turn out to have a similar amount of genetic distance from the human genome.

08-04-2002, 07:37 PM	#3
Starboy Banned Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Tallahassee, FL Reality Adventurer Posts: 5,276	That is soooo cooool! Go molecular biophysicists!

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