Sulfolobus solfataricus is a model organism for the study of the crenarchaeal branch of the Archaea. It is remarkable for its optimal growth conditions: 80oC and pH 2-4, metabolizing sulfur. In the July 3 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, She et al. report completion of the genome sequence of S. solfataricus by a Canadian-European collaborative project (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2001, 98:7835-7840). The genome is almost 3 megabases long on a single chromosome and encodes 2977 protein

High-throughput northern hybridizations have generated a 'Rosetta Stone' of standardized reference data for yeast.

Leukemia patients who become resistant to anti-cancer drugs acquire mutations or amplifications of the initiating oncogene.

Simple DNA profiling techniques can authenticate laboratory cell lines and eliminate scientific misrepresentation.

Phosphorylation of the human checkpoint protein hRad17 signals DNA damage.

Phylogenetic analysis refutes previous suggestions that there was extensive horizontal gene transfer from bacteria to vertebrates.

microarrays can be used to study related bacteria for which complete genome sequences are not available.

Comparative analysis of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) identifies rapidly evolving proteins in the reproductive glands of male flies.

show that vitamin C induces the formation of genotoxins, explaining why it has proved ineffective as a cancer therapeutic agent.

Telomere position effects in human cells may account for gene expression changes as cells grow older.

DNA microarrays have been used to characterize sequence-specific DNA recognition by zinc-finger proteins.

A screen for small RNA molecules has identified over 200 new small non-messenger RNAs.