Little Differences Show Up Big in Gene Expression

“And though she be but little, she is fierce.”
— A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I, ii, 335

I am what some of my friends affectionately call “vertically challenged.” The sun visor in my car is often useless to me and, depending on the chair, my feet don’t always lie flat on the floor. Several of my coworkers at RTB share these trials with me—but though we are short, we hope to help make a big difference in the lives of people RTB reaches.

Likewise, though there is a possible 98–99% genetic similarity between humans and chimps, it’s the little variations that seem to make big differences. As researchers dig deeper into genetic comparisons, a more complex picture emerges.

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Getting to Know You: An Interview with Patricia Fanning, Part 2 (of 2)

We’ve been getting to know RNA biochemist and RTB’s first visiting scholar, Dr. Patricia Fanning. Picking up where we left off February 18, we end the interview with an enlightening discussion on embryology and the uniqueness of humans (plus, a little taste of Patricia’s nonscientific interests).

 

Getting to Know You: An Interview with Dr. Patricia Fanning, Part 1 (of 2)

We appreciate the need for fresh insight on the science-faith relationship from experts in disciplines not covered by our own awesome quartet of scholars. Enter the Visiting Scholar Program. How it works is the current RTB scholars invite a colleague to spend a season, say a few months up to a year, in Southern California working at the RTB headquarters, helping us expand our resources (articles, podcasts, etc.) and develop our coverage of varying scientific fields.

 

The Proofing Is In the Pudding

The New Year brings with it a collective “and now for something completely different” mood. A closing of one chapter and the opening of another.

For RTB scholar Fazale “Fuz” Rana, it means the end of the writing stage for his upcoming book (working title Life in the Lab). For the editorial team, it means picking up the baton and running full speed toward the copyediting process (among other things). This is my favorite part of the process—not only do I get to do what I love (edit), but I also get a sneak peek at the scholars’ next book. Bonus!