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Scientists Map DNA of Rhesus Monkeys

Posted by Zonk on from the next-up-the-apes-in-un'goro dept.

KingKong writes "Scientists have unraveled the DNA of another of our primate relatives, this time a monkey named the rhesus macaque — and the work has far more immediate impact than just to study evolution. These fuzzy animals are key to testing the safety of many medicines, and understanding such diseases as AIDS, and the new research will help scientists finally be sure when they're a good stand-in for humans. 'Having a third primate will allow scientists to compare the three genomes, with an added emphasis on singling out the genes possessed by humans alone. The end goal is to reconstruct the history of every single one of the approximately 20,000 genes, to determine when they first appeared in history, and in what species. All of this requires an extraordinary amount of information.'"

4 of 104 comments (clear)

  1. Just remember... by BMonger · · Score: 0, Redundant

    There's no right way to eat a Rhesus

  2. Rhesus Monkeys? by pizzach · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Aren't Rhesus Monkeys the kind with peanut butter in the middle? (You know, instead of chocolate.)

    --
    Once you start despising the jerks, you become one.
  3. You saw this comming! by nofxrok · · Score: 0, Redundant

    What do you call a trash bag full of mutilated laboratory monkeys? Rhesus Pieces.

  4. So what you're saying is... by fluxrad · · Score: 0, Redundant

    scientists have finally found all the Rhesus Pieces?

    --
    "It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once." -David Hume