Chilly mice develop more tumors; gut bacteria aid cancer treatment; two Y chromosome genes sufficient for assisted reproduction; HIV’s “invisibility cloak”
Kelly Robinson and Julie Dunning Hotopp | Oct 1, 2016 | 8 min read
Bacteria inhabit most tissues in the human body, and genes from some of these microbes have made their way to the human genome. Could this genetic transfer contribute to diseases such as cancer?
So far, six animal species are known to carry transmissible, “parasitic” forms of cancer, but researchers are still mystified as to how cancer can become infectious.
Next-generation sequencing has identified scores of new microorganisms, but getting even abundant bacterial species to grow in the lab has proven challenging.
Evolution of Y chromosome; delivering gene with “bionic ears”; diversity of an important cyanobacterium; charting genome-sequencing progress; blockbuster pharma deals
Life scientists have been challenged more than ever this year not just to critically analyze data, but to better interpret those data for an increasingly critical public.