NOTE: This post is for Saturday, September 25
This article can be found at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/26/MNNP1FDFTC.DTL&type=science
The story, about the genetic procedure called imprinting that fuels the asymmetry in genetic inheritance between the two parents’ genomes, is short yet packed with information. It starts off on an engaging note in that it questions the supposedly established belief that both parents play an exactly equal role in giving us our inherited qualities. Apparently, recent research (just published a month ago) suggests that this is not the case.
The most interesting information in the article comes right after the initial two paragraphs—the mouse experiments where it is found that 1) mouse embryos engineered to hold either two male genomes or two female genomes all died and 2) after solving the first problem, biologists found that mice with two male genomes had “large bodies and small brains” while the double female genome mice exhibited the exact opposite.
After that, the author delves into an explanation of the genetic mechanism of imprinting. To someone with little biological background, it may be a bit confusing. Only three short paragraphs were dedicated to the explanation, and while the brevity of the story is certainly one of its strong suits, perhaps a more fleshed-out clarification of imprinting may have made a more lasting impression on the reader.
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