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SANTA CRUZ, CA--In the most comprehensive study of animal evolution ever attempted, an international consortium of scientists plans to assemble a genomic zoo--a collection of DNA sequences for 10,000 vertebrate species, approximately one for every vertebrate genus.

Known as the Genome 10K Project, it involves gathering specimens of thousands of animals from zoos, museums, and university collections throughout the world, and then sequencing the genome of each species to reveal its complete genetic heritage.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — New insight into how nature handles some fundamental processes is guiding researchers in the design of tailor-made proteins for applications such as artificial photosynthetic centers, long-range electron transfers, and fuel-cell catalysts for energy conversion.

In this week's NATURE, Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) scientists report a technological advance in the study of gene expression and regulation in the genome's three-dimensional folding and looping state through the development of a novel technology.

The technology is ChIA-PET (Chromatin Interaction Analysis using Paired End Tag sequencing). Chromatin is a complex combination of DNA and proteins that make up chromosomes.

Scientists have an ambitious new strategy for untangling the evolutionary history of humans and their biological relatives: Create a genetic menagerie made of the DNA of more than 10,000 vertebrate species. The plan, proposed by an international consortium of scientists, is to obtain, preserve, and sequence the DNA of approximately one species for each genus of living mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Nearly 73 percent of all American adults use the Internet on a daily basis, according to a 2009 Pew Internet and American Life Project survey. Half of these adults use the Web to find information via search engines, while 38 percent use it to pass the time. In a recent study, University of Missouri researchers found that readers were better able to understand, remember and emotionally respond to material found through "searching" compared to content found while "surfing."

PHILDELPHIA - While studying how the heart is formed, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine serendipitously found a novel cellular source of atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common type of abnormal heart beat. Jonathan Epstein, M.D., William Wikoff Smith Professor, and Chair, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, and Vickas Patel, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine, have identified a population of cells in the atria of the heart and pulmonary veins of humans and mice that appear to be the seat of AF.

The study, entitled "Moonlighting Proteins HAL3 and VHS3 Form a Heteromeric PPCDC with YKL088w in Yeast CoA Biosynthesis" and published in Nature Chemical Biology, was carried out by researchers of the UAB Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, under the coordination of Dr Joaquin Ariño.

What do patients want from their radiation oncologists? The most significant preference is that more than one-third of female cancer patients (37 percent) prefer to have their hands held by their radiation oncologists during important office visits, compared to 12 percent of men, according to a randomized study presented November 4, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

Racial discrimination is a major threat to African American women's mental health. It undermines their view of themselves as masters of their own life circumstances and makes them less psychologically resilient and more prone to depression. These findings (1) by Dr. Verna Keith, from Florida State University in the US and her colleagues, are published online in Springer's journal Sex Roles.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 4, 2009 -- Colonies of army ants, whose long columns and marauding habits are the stuff of natural-history legend, are usually antagonistic to each other, attacking soldiers from rival colonies in border disputes that keep the colonies separate. But new work by a researcher at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology and colleagues at the University of Copenhagen shows that in some cases the colonies can be cooperative instead of combative.

Scientists in Canada are reporting the development of a fast, inexpensive "dipstick" test to identify small amounts of pesticides that may exist in foods and beverages. Their paper-strip test is more practical than conventional pesticide tests, producing results in minutes rather than hours by means of an easy-to-read color-change, they say.

St. Louis, MO, November 4, 2009 – Most weight-control strategies emphasize energy-restricted diets and increased physical activity – and most are not effective over the long term. In a study of a "weight-acceptance" intervention, published in the November 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers found that there could be long-term beneficial effects on certain eating behaviors using a weight- acceptance intervention approach.

A study by six researchers, including a University of Colorado at Boulder associate professor and his former doctoral student, shows that amputees who use running-specific prosthetic legs have no performance advantage over counterparts who use their biological legs.

Designers of anti-cancer drugs are aiming their arrows at mysterious chunks of the genetic material DNA that may play a key role in preventing the growth and spread of cancer cells, according to an article in the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS' weekly newsmagazine.