Detecting gene-gene interactions in genome-wide studies

A new method to analyze SNPs and identify gene-gene interactions in genome-wide case-control studies. It has a catchy name - “BOolean Operation-based Screening and Testing” (BOOST). This paper is mathematically technical, but worth skimming.

A polymorphism in the oestrogen receptor gene explains covariance between digit ratio and mating behaviour

Finally a mechanism for 2D:4D variation?

Heritable circadian period length in a wild bird population

This study manages to show that temporal patterns of activity are highly heritable.

Gene copy-number polymorphism in nature

The authors review the state of the study of gene copy number variation (CNV), including how to detect them, how they are created and some evidence for natural selection acting on CNV.

Sean Carroll Lecture

The National Association of Science Writers is holding their annual meeting at Yale this year from Nov. 5-9. The lineup includes a number of interesting talks, but two that stick out are those given by Sean Carroll and Yale's very own Laurie Santos. I'm going to try to catch a bit of the conference, so let me know if you're interested and we can head up there as a group.

new tool for whole-genome analysis

A bit technical, but since analysis tools are constantly changing, is perhaps worth posting.

hybrid species

nice little NYT article by sean carroll

Y Chromosomal Variation Tracks the Evolution of Mating Systems in Chimpanzee and Bonobo