nodalpoint.org

Two of my favourite things and the subject of a 3-article feature in Nature this week, presumably for the festive season. The first of these is a fascinating look at the evolution of ADH genes.

I should read Wired Magazine more often. Current stories include 10th anniversary of the Beowulf but more interestingly, a 10-page article on Craig Venter's global circumnavigation and plans to "sequence the globe". Whatever you think of the guy, it's a fascinating read.

Not exactly bioinformatics-related, but I'm excited by the news of methane on Mars. Check out my additions to ArchaeaWeb on this topic.

On a side note, the BBC article originally stated that bacteria are methanogens. I wrote to point out the error and they corrected it and replied personally! Now that's public service.

A letter in the Lancet outlines a scenario in which the SARS virus could have come from the outer regions of our atmosphere. Interesting, and reasonably plausible arguments.

A database of PFGE images for subtypes of MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, one of the really nasty infections you can pick up in hospitals) has been set up. Basically, you plonk in your band sizes after running a standardised protocol gel, it throws that up against the standard subtypes known, and tells you if you're looking at one of the nasty staph strains.