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Decoding mammal genes

SHANGHAI: Chinese scientists have worked out a highly efficient tool to decode information in mammal's genome and hopefully to study more closely the mammalian life cycle, including causes for birth defects and certain diseases. The findings, a transposition system dubbed PiggyBac and its elements, are "landmark findings with the potential to alter the way mouse genetics is carried out worldwide, and with implications for human gene therapy," say editors with Cell, an authoritative international magazine on life science. The findings have been summarised into a thesis and will be published on the upcoming issue of the magazine, according to sources with the Shanghai-based Fudan University and Cell's website. Entitled "Efficient transposition of the PiggyBac transposition in mammalian cells and mice," the thesis will make a cover story, said Prof. Xu Tian, head of the university's developmental biology institute and leader of the research team.

— Xinhua

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