Tag Genetics
Bacteriology professor Jade Wang named HHMI Faculty Scholar
Jue “Jade” Wang, an associate professor of bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, has been named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Faculty Scholar.
Fruit flies help explain differences between males and females
John Pool, assistant professor of genetics at UW–Madison, studies evolutionary genetics in his “fly room.” David Tenenbaum Vive la difference! Trust the French…
Mara McDonald, ‘quintessential boundary crosser,’ dies at 68
Although the longtime assistant administrator in the Laboratory of Genetics and J.F. Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution retired from the university last year, she continued to touch lives.
Lessons of lager: Yeast origin becomes a complex tale
The findings are important as yeasts are critical to many industries — brewing, fermenting other foods, making drugs like human insulin, and producing new biofuels.
Gene regulatory mutation linked to rare childhood cancer
This basic knowledge of a specific cancer is essential to start drug testing, says researcher Peter Lewis.
Carrot genome paints picture of domestication, could help improve crops
The crop's full genetic code was just deciphered by a team of researchers led by UW–Madison horticulture professor and geneticist Phil Simon.
Recent evolutionary change allows a fruit fly to dine on a toxic fruit
A fruit called the noni, now hyped for a vast array of unproven health benefits, is at the heart of a new research study.
Lewis Thomas Prize to be awarded to Wisconsin’s Sean Carroll
Carroll was instrumental in building the field of evolutionary developmental biology, known colloquially as evo devo.
Study illuminates war between the sexes: fruit fly edition
New research from the Laboratory of Genetics pinpoints the effect on reproduction of a female's ability to masquerade as a male.
UW-Madison bioethicist co-chairs gene editing study
R. Alta Charo, a professor of law and longtime student of the regulation and ethics of biotechnology, was named co-chair of a study committee established Nov. 12 by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to look into the implications of a faster, easier and more precise method for "editing" genes.
More details on origin of world’s favorite beer-making microbe
The crucial genetic mashup that spawned the yeast that brews the vast majority of beer occurred at least twice - and both times without human help - according to a University of Wisconsin–Madison study published Aug. 11 in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution.
UW study shows how a kernel got naked and corn became king
Ten thousand years ago, a golden grain got naked, brought people together and grew to become one of the top agricultural commodities on the planet.
Fragile X proteins involved in proper neuron development
Fragile X syndrome is the most common inherited intellectual disability and the greatest single genetic contributor to autism. Unlocking the mechanisms behind fragile X could make important revelations about the brain.
Navigating multiple myeloma with ‘Google Maps’ for the cancer genome
In some ways, studying the genetics of cancer has been like examining the individual tiles on a mosaic, says David C. Schwartz, a professor of genetics and chemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. To make his point, he brings his face close to the table where he sits - his mosaic for the purpose of illustration - and describes the details of each imaginary tile.
In memoriam: Ray D. Owen discovered immune tolerance, paved the way for organ transplantation
Ray D. Owen, who died on Sept. 21 in Pasadena, California, at the age of 98, discovered the phenomenon of immune tolerance, fueling a revolution in immunology and laying the foundation for the successful transplantation of human organs. Owen left Madison in 1947 to join the faculty at Caltech, where he remained for the rest of his long, distinguished career. His later work included studies on human antibodies, blood-group antigens, and the evolution of immune systems.
Legend in genetics at forefront of book about heroism during 20th century’s darkest hours
Waclaw Szybalski, 92, a genius of genetics who has been repeatedly mentioned as a candidate for the Nobel Prize, grew up as an aspiring scientist during World War II in the eastern part of Poland. Many of Szybalski's most significant wartime roles concerned a decidedly applied type of science: He cooked TNT so the Polish resistance could sabotage rail lines. He participated in smuggling typhus vaccine to Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto. And he fed lice and supervised "louse feeders."
Scientists find the shocking truth about electric fish
Scientists have found how the electric fish evolved its jolt.
Yeast researcher, Chris Hittinger, named Pew Scholar in Biomedical Sciences
A University of Wisconsin–Madison researcher, well known for his work studying yeast fermentation, has been named a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences by the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Famed Milwaukee County Zoo orangutan’s death caused by strange infection
Mahal, the young orangutan who became a star of the Milwaukee County Zoo and an emblem of survival for a dwindling species, led an extraordinary life. It turns out, the young ape died an extraordinary death, too.
Hitchhiking virus confirms saga of ancient human migration
A study of the full genetic code of a common human virus offers a dramatic confirmation of the "out-of-Africa" pattern of human migration, which had previously been documented by anthropologists and studies of the human genome.