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A precocious research proposal for testing dietary health, a parody of Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” music video and a philosophical essay on genetic testing have won prizes from UC Berkeley’s “Bring Your Genes to Cal” program.
Tag: dna
Berkeley statisticians help find function of “junk” DNA in human genome
September 6, 2012:
Berkeley statisticians played a key role in the large ENCODE consortium that determined the function of what was thought to be “junk” DNA in the human genome. Led by Peter Bickel, the statisticians provided several of the tools biologists needed to uncover the functional roles of DNA outside protein coding genes.
Diet may treat some diseases due to genetic mutations
April 10, 2012:
Some genetic diseases, such as homocystinuria, are caused by a variety of genetic mutations, some causing worse symptoms than others. Jasper Rine and colleagues in QB3 have shown how to identify those mutations whose effects can be ameliorated by vitamin supplementation, which could help doctors tailor treatment to the individual patient.
James Berger honored by National Academy of Sciences
January 20, 2011:
James Berger, the Walter and Ruth Schubert Family Chair in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has received the National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology for his discoveries about topoisomerases and helicases that keep DNA from forming kinks and knots during replication and transcription.
Tempest in a spit cup
September 10, 2010:
A decision by the deans of the College of Letters & Science to offer students the opportunity to find out about three of their genes ignited a nationwide discussion of genetic privacy issues – exactly the kind of discussion organizers hope will take place on campus.
Tibetans adapted to high altitude in less than 3,000 years
July 1, 2010:
UC Berkeley’s Rasmus Nielsen teamed up with Chinese researchers to compare the genomes of Tibetans living above 14,000 feet to Han Chinese living at essentially sea level. They found that within the last 3,000 years, Tibetans evolved genetic mutations in a number of genes having to do with how the body deals with oxygen, making it possible for Tibetans to thrive at high altitudes while their Han relatives cannot.
Preventing cells from getting the kinks out of DNA
May 20, 2010:
A new discovery by UC Berkeley biochemists could pave the way for new research into how to re-design some of the standard antibiotic and anti-cancer drugs to make them more effective poisons for cancer cells and harmful bacteria.
