How did it become possible to sequence the 3 billion base pairs in the human genome? More than a quarter of a century’s worth of work from hundreds of scientists made such projects possible.
Identical twins often develop different characteristics, even though they carry the same sequence of DNA nucleotides. How can this be? The answer lies in epigenomics.
Are human behaviors controlled by genetics, or are environmental factors major contributors to behavior? Such questions are fundamental to the study of behavioral genomics.
Where would you go to find the nucleotide and amino acid data you need? There are thousands of genomic databases, tools, and other resources freely accessible on the Internet.
The Human Genome Project has been finished—why is it important to look at the genomes of other species? Species inventory projects can reveal insights into biodiversity and utility for humans.
How do genomes from E. coli and yeast help researchers? They shed light on the basic principles of genomics. The Human Microbiome Project sequences microbial genomes for this purpose.
How would you distinguish organisms based on their genomes? One of the tools scientists use is amplified fragment length polymorphism polymerase chain reaction (AFLP-PCR).
Scientists now have the ability to sequence complex genomes from multicellular organisms. Does the genome size correlate with the complexity of the organism? The answer is surprising.
Move over karyotypes—genetic disorder detection has vastly improved. Researchers are now using array CGH (aCGH), to quickly scan through an entire genome for imbalances.
