Researchers at Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) have created the world’s first chimeric monkeys, which may contain as many as six distinct genomes. Named Roku, Hex, and Chimero, these rhesus monkeys were produced by successfully aggregating multiple embryos and implanting the mixed embryo into a surrogate mother.

According to a group of researchers led by Dr. Kristina Aldridge, an assistant professor of anatomy at the University of Missouri School of Medicine and the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, certain facial features of children with autism are distinctly different compared to those of typically developing children. Using a 3-D cranial imaging system, the scientists found that autistic compared to non-autistic boys aged 8 to 12 years have a broadened upper face, including wider eyes, shortened middle region of the face, including the cheeks and nose, and broadened mouth and philtrum, the cleft between the nose and upper lip. Additionally, two subgroups of autistic boys had facial morphology different from the majority of other autistic and typically developing boys. These findings published in the October 14, 2011 issue of Molecular Autism suggest that there are potentially multiple etiologies and genetic differences that can lead to autism.

Since it's discovery in the early 1990's, scientists have identified hundreds of mutations in the BRCA1 gene, many of which are associated with an increased risk of cancer. Women with an abnormal BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene have up to a 60% risk of developing breast cancer by age 90.

Sunbathers may soon be closer to hitting the beach or pool without having to lather up with sunblock thanks to a team of researchers led by Dr. Paul Long at King’s College London who recently discovered how natural sunscreen compounds are made by coral. The goal of the research is to understand the genetic and biochemical basis on how natural sunscreens are made with the vision of developing non-topical commercial sun protection products, potentially in the form of tablets. This would eliminate the oily mess that’s made using topical lotions and also reduce the struggle to apply to hard-to-reach places like one’s back. The discovery could also prompt efforts to bioengineer crop plants to be more UV-tolerant, especially in sunlight-intense areas of the world.

How are endurance athletes able to perform at such high-levels in sport? Most would attribute this athleticism to dedication and countless hours of training. However, a group of researchers headed by Dr. Tejvir Khurana at the University of Pennsylvania suggest that muscle endurance may be linked to a gene called IL-15Rα that is either missing or contains single nucleotide polymorphisms (i.e., a gene mutation) in muscle tissue. They found that mice deficient in the IL-15Rα gene had greater endurance capacity and fatigue resistance than their wildtype counterparts. Perhaps one day drugs will be designed to silence IL-15Rα so that we can all run like Olympic-class endurance athletes.

The "tail short" mutant mouse was first discovered in 1946 among a litter of offspring born to a highly inbred strain of mice raised in a breeding program at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda. The mutant mice all had very unusual skeletal features: short, stubby tails and an extra set of ribs in their neck vertebrae - but for years no one knew why.

Dr. Jean-Jacques Hublin of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology details a recent and curious discovery of a possible genetic integration between Neanderthals and modern humans around 60,000 years ago.

Researchers from the NYU Langone Medical Center analyzed the genetic data from nearly 50,000 individuals to uncover several DNA sequence variations that are associated with the electrical impulses that make our hearts beat. They hope the findings will lead to a better understanding of the underlying factors that may contribute to irregular heart rhythms and sudden cardiac arrests.

In a food economy that is rich in refined starches, it can be hard to have a balanced starch intake. The Monell Center has just reported that the perceived texture of food varied between individuals based on the activity of an oral enzyme known as salivary amylase. While the studies sample size was of just 73 people the methodology was thorough in its approach and even analyzed DNA samples from 62 subjects to examine the genetic influences on salivary amylase.

"Differences in starch perception likely affect people’s nutritional status by influencing their liking for and intake of starchy and starch-thickened foods,” said study lead author Abigail Mandel, a nutritional scientist at Monell.

The 'central dogma' of genetics: DNA --> RNA --> Protein ... it's been the foundation to our understanding of the transfer of sequence information in living organisms since Francis Crick first coined the term 50 years ago. Despite our advances in decoding the human genome, scientists estimate that we still know very little as to the function of nearly 95% of our DNA.