I thought this article was a particularly good choice since there was
a nice summary of it in addition to the full text of the article
itself. I also find genomic research fascinating.
I have provided links to the summary and to the corresponding article.
I have also provided you with a 320 word essay as you requested to
get you started covering the basic points of your question. The
references are in APA format based on the Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association, Third Edition. Please note that
the title and volume number of the journal should be underlined to
comply with APA format. I can only post here in plain text, so the
underlining has been dropped.
Please request clarification if needed
Sincerely,
Wonko
Kennedy, Barbara K. (2002). Gene study determines how humans are
related to fruit flies and nematode worms. Penn State University,
Eberly College of Science.
http://www.science.psu.edu/alert/Hedges4-2002.htm
Blair, Jaime E., Ikeo, Kazuho, Gojobori, Takashi, & Hedges, S. Blair
(2002). The evolutionary position of nematodes. BMC Evolutionary
Biology 2002, 2(7).
http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2148-2-7.pdf
In the article "The Evolutionary Position of Nematodes,"the authors
tested a recent hypothesis regarding the evolutionary relationship
between humans, fruit flies, and nematodes. "The new hypothesis,
named 'Ecdysozoa,' argued that fruit flies and nematodes are more
closely related to each other than to humans. The classic hypothesis,
named 'Coelomata,' argued instead that humans and fruit flies are more
closely related to each other than to the nematodes." (Kennedy, 2002)
The scientists used the hypothesis to design and execute a research
project to properly determined the relationship between humans, fruit
flies, and nematodes.
Becuse the genomes of the nematode, fruit fly, and human have been
sequenced in their entirety, the authors were able to use 100 genes
that are common between the species. The previous support for the new
hypothesis was based on an analysis of a single gene. Because of the
much larger number of genes that were considered, the authors believe
that they have "...obtained a result that is unambiguous." (Kennedy,
2002) This result overturned the new hypothesis in favor of the old
one: namely, humans are more closely related to the fruit fly than
they are to the nematode.
This research represents the beginnings of what will be possible now
that the human genome has been sequenced. As more species' genomes
are sequenced (so far only the nematode, fruit fly, and human have
been completely sequenced), the proper relationship between species
can be accurately determined. Furthermore, it is much easier to study
gene expression in simpler life forms than it is in human beings.
Broad applications for medicine should be possible as the functions of
genes are better understood. As one of the authors noted, "[a] lot of
our understanding of human medicine is based on these species because
we can do experiments with them that you wouldn't do with humans."
(Kennedy, 2002) Future gene-based treatments hold the possibility for
transforming the lives of everyone suffering from medical maladies. |
