Joe Thornton, PhD, professor of human genetics and evolution at the University of Chicago, led a team of scientists to demonstrate how just a few small, high-probability mutations increased the complexity of a molecular machine more than 800 million years ago. WBEZ 91.5 Nature (blog) PhysOrg Howard Hughes Medical Institute Deskarati (blog) Futurity

The EVE Consortium identified a novel gene association specific to populations of African descent. In addition, the new study confirmed the significance of four gene associations recently reported by a European asthma genetics study. link

Angela Hancock of the University of Chicago talked about recent data showing that human genetic variation that’s adaptive in one context will not be so in other contexts. Studying 61 populations from different parts of the world, she identified signals of selection in a variety of genes related to UV radiation, infection and immunity, and [...]

“Every tumor is telling its own story, its own history,” says Kevin White, director of the Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology at the University of Chicago. One by one, he’s reading and analyzing those stories as part of the university’s $5-million Chicago Cancer Genome Project. [link]

Abraham Palmer was interviewed by Science Magazine in this article about the genetics of caffeine consumption.

A blog entry by Robert Mitchum has just been posted on Science Life which describes the Palmer Lab’s past and future interests in research on the genetics of decision making in humans.

Molly Przeworski, PhD, professor of human genetics and ecology & evolution, recently co-authored a study that found that humans probably did not engage in the selective sweep evolution model as was previously thought. Read the Science News story Read the GenomeWeb Daily News story

Kevin White, PhD, director of the Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology, has partnered with the Field Museum to launch the Emerging Pathogens Project that explores the evolution of animal diseases. Read the story

Why Humans Are More Sensitive Than Chimps to Certain Viruses