Cat DNA decoding to aid humans, too

[johnnymk]

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...711010422/1009

Researchers have largely decoded the DNA of a cat, a step that may aid the search for treatments for both feline and human diseases.

The report adds cats to the roughly two dozen mammals whose DNA has been unraveled, a list that includes dogs, chimps, rats, mice, cows and people.

Cats get more than 200 diseases that resemble human illnesses, and knowing the details of their genetic makeup should help in the search for vaccines and treatments, researchers say.

The list includes a cat version of AIDS, SARS, diabetes, retinal disease and spina bifida, said Stephen J. O'Brien of the National Cancer Institute.

The new work is reported in the November issue of the journal Genome Research by a team including O'Brien and colleague Joan Pontius.

It covers about two-thirds of the DNA of Cinnamon, a research cat that lives at the University of Missouri in Columbia

[Markel]

Sounds like a worthwhile project. Maybe they will uncover the evil gene.

[DarkFury]

Sounds like a worthwhile project. Maybe they will uncover the evil gene.

Down weasel boy... DOWN!!!