Are you a man or a mouse?

[novapsyche]

Mouse Genetic Code Published

Scientists in six countries have published nearly the entire genetic makeup of the mouse--an accomplishment that demonstrates the lab animal's startling biological similarity to people and could yield new insights into human diseases.

The draft code of the mouse, 2.5 billion DNA letters long, is about 95 percent completed. Its release comes nearly two years after the human genetic makeup, or genome, was deciphered.

Scientists are already making side-by-side comparisons of the two genomes in hopes of better understanding human evolution and how genes function.

[...] Initial comparison of the mouse and human genomes shows the species are closely related at a genetic level, even though the two last shared a common mammal ancestor 75 million years ago, when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth.

A full 99 percent of a mouse's genes have counterparts in humans, including genes that cause mice to have tails. In fact, researchers said they have identified only 300 genes that are unique to either creature.

Comments

[kittenkissies.livejournal.com]

Welp, I'd think 300 would be enough.