An Interest In:
Web News this Week
- April 12, 2024
- April 11, 2024
- April 10, 2024
- April 9, 2024
- April 8, 2024
- April 7, 2024
- April 6, 2024
Some of Our Sources
- BoingBoing
- Mashable
- Joshua Blankenship
- The Logo Smith
- Inspiredology
- Web Designer Depot
- My Ink Blog
- Stylized Web
- Design Modo
- TechPowerUp
Help Webnuz
Referal links:
June 23, 2011 08:05 pm
Original Link: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/HVWSW8U75Gs/Human-Genome-Contaminated-With-Mycoplasma-DNA
Human Genome Contaminated With Mycoplasma DNA
KentuckyFC writes "The published human genome is contaminated with DNA sequences from mycoplasma bacteria, according to bioinformatics researchers who blame an epidemic of mycoplasma contamination in molecular biology labs around the world. The researchers say they've also found mycoplasma DNA in two commercially available human DNA chips made by biotech companies for measuring levels of human gene expression. So anybody using these chips to measure human gene expression is also unknowingly measuring mycoplasma gene expression too. The mycoplasma genes are clearly successful in reproducing themselves in silico raising the possibility that we're seeing the beginnings of an entirely new kind of landscape of infection. One option to combat this kind of virtual infection is to protect databases with the genomic version of antivirus software, a kind of virtual immune system. But this in itself could make things worse by triggering an evolutionary arms race that selects genes most capable of beating the safeguards." 
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Original Link: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/HVWSW8U75Gs/Human-Genome-Contaminated-With-Mycoplasma-DNA
Share this article:
Tweet
View Full Article
Slashdot
Slashdot was originally created in September of 1997 by Rob "CmdrTaco" Malda. Today it is owned by Geeknet, Inc..More About this Source Visit Slashdot