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6 | AUGUST 2014 | GENengnews.com | Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News 140 Huguenot Street, New Rochelle, NY 10801- 5215 914 740 -2100 www.GENengnews.com PUBLISHER & CEO Mary Ann Liebert EDITOR IN CHIEF John Sterling editor@GENengnews.com GEN GROUP PUBLISHER Sande Giaccone M A N AG I N G E D I TO R Tamlyn L. Oliver P R O D U C T I O N E D I TO R Robert M. Reis S E N I O R E D I TO R Kevin Mayer T E C H N I C A L E D I TO R Patricia F. 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Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. is recognized as a Certifed Woman-Owned Business by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). www.GENengnews.com Sticky Ends... Extinct Denisovans Gave Tibetans High-Altitude Gene For Electric Fishes, Evolutionary Currents Surged in Parallel Chimps Find New Homes in Their Golden Years While a genome isn't a circuit diagram, it can reveal molecular switches and developmental pathways. Consider the draft genome for the South American electric eel. It galvanized scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to undertake a comparative study of this organism and three other elec- tric fshes. All four organisms came from distinct lineages. All bore evidence of having independently modifed the same genes and the same developmental and cellular pathways. And all evolved large, supercharged muscle cells. Plugged together, these cells—electro- cytes—can generate a quite a jolt. In short, the UW-Madison scien- tists uncovered a shocking instance of convergent evolution. In the future, soldiers on battlefelds could be protected against germ warfare agents by having blood transfusions with geneti- cally modifed cells that can neutralize deadly biological toxins. According to research sup- ported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), human red blood cells that have been genetically engineered to produce protein antidotes and other anti- body-based medicines can be safely delivered to any part of the body. A study showed that modifed human red blood cells stay circulat- ing in the body for up to four months, giving transfusion recipients long-term protection. Trojan Y Chromosome to Be Used against Invasive Fish Ned sufered head trauma as an infant. The mishap's efects—reduced mobility and impaired cognition—complicated Ned's social interactions. But with a little TLC and a change of scenery, Ned has managed to make several new friends nonetheless. Ned is one of 110 federally owned chimps who were ofcially retired from the New Iberia Research Center and relocated to Chimp Haven, the National Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Keithville, LA. The new arrivals—like 46-year-old Julius, reunited with six of the 29 children he fathered in captivity—have nearly doubled Chimp Haven's population, to 212 chimpanzees. The sanctuary was able to house the retirees after Chimp Haven and the NIH joined the Foundation for NIH and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) in raising $2.3 million toward two phases of facility construction—including $1 million from Bob Barker. Chimp Haven estimates the second construction phase will be com- plete in August. Another $2.7 million is being raised toward care of the chimps, HSUS spokeswoman Samantha Miller told GEN. According to the Times of San Diego, BIO's International Convention held in San Diego at the end of June had a signifcant impact on the region's economy. Meeting delegates—includ- ing 15,667 leaders in industry, government, and academia; keynote speakers Hillary Clinton and Sir Richard Branson; and the governors of California, Massachusetts, South Dakota, and Virginia—contributed over $56 million to the region's cofers during the four-day meeting. Choose Chicago, the windy city's convention and tourism arm, pegged the economic impact of the 2013 BIO meeting in Chicago at just $23 million, which might have played a role in BIO's recent decision to hold its 2016 meeting in San Francisco instead of returning to Chicago as originally planned. BIO Meeting Boon to San Diego Region and Vice Versa Blood Transfusions Could Protect Soldiers from Germ Warfare George Grall, National Aquarium Hadynyah/iStock shiva/Fotolia Chimp Haven University of Tasmania Researchers from the University of Tasmania have started a four-year project to introduce a Trojan Y chromosome specifc to the Eastern mosquitofsh (Gambusia holbrooki) that will make female fsh produce mostly male eggs, reducing the population. The mosquitofsh was introduced to many countries worldwide to control mosquito num- bers. However, it proved no better than native fsh at controlling mosquitos while reportedly causing extensive damage to native aquatic fauna. Andy/Fotolia Cover Photo: arrow/Fotolia It looks like Tibetans, who live comfortably at high altitudes with low levels of oxygen, can thank an extinct group of humans known as the Denisovans for passing on the gene that permits them to have their in-the-clouds lifestyle. Accord- ing to an article ("Altitude adapta- tion in Tibetans caused by intro- gression of Denisovan-like DNA") in Nature, the ancestors of the Tibetans obtained the EPAS1 gene, most probably through having bred with the Denisovans, whose genome shows features similar to modern humans and the Neander- thals. These archaic humans were unknown until the discovery of a single fnger bone four years ago. 6 | AUGUST 2014 | GENengnews.com