Rachel Mackelprang and Edward Rubin have written up a short review of current state of paleo-DNA in today’s issue of Science. They pay particular attention to the Neandertal sequencing project and the recent research, such as the melanocortin 1 receptor (Mc1r) and forkhead box P2 (Foxp2) studies we read about last fall. They also outline [...]
July 10, 2008
Why Can’t Humans Produce Neu5Gc?
Ajit Varki from University of California, San Diego believes to have found out what it means to be human. He’s been investigating a molecule called Neu5Gc, a variant of sialic acid, and his progress has been summarized in this news article. Neu5Gc functions as a marker or tag which identifies cells and helps them stick [...]
