Did you hear that a geneticist at Harvard has invented an "evolution machine" in order to study mutations associated with diseases? How about the new technique whereby pluripotent cells can be created by putting mouse blood cells in an acid bath? Better yet - a week later we have got totipotent cells from human cells through a similar method; how crazy is that! Also, avian flu is at it again, with a new strand called H9N2 originating in China. The Chinese government is already taking steps to prevent outbreaks. While we're talking about present diseases though, take a moment to think about past diseases: The Black Plague, for instance, has left a mark on the genomes of two ethnic groups. Maybe geneticists in the thirtieth century will be studying avian flu the same way that we are studying the Black Plague, in the immune responses selected from when our ancestors encountered their contemporary pathogens.
Really, you have not heard about any of this? Well, you should check out
the articles that our awesome webmaster, Drew, has been posting. Every day, a new story from biology at large, and we will also put up BioCOM news when relevant. While you are over there on our website, learning about acid bath stem cells or whatnot, you can check out
our calendar and find out when your favorite club is going to be having its meetings. I hope to see you on the next general meeting. When is it? Well, I'll leave it to you to check the website. Thanks, Drew!