Genes

Hunting for the elusive cure for the common cold, scientists have decoded the genomes of all known strains of the human rhinovirus, the main cause of the malady that makes millions miserable each year. But don't toss out the chicken soup yet. There is so much diversity among the strains that hopes for a vaccine or a treatment that would prevent or cure every cold are slim, according to the scientists' study, published online Thursday in the journal Science.

Scientists have uncovered a group of 40 genes that appear to make North America's monarch butterflies fly thousands of miles south each autumn. It is the first time that researchers have homed in on the exact genes driving migratory behavior in any animal. Monarchs are famous for their epic 2,500-mile overland migrations from Canada to Mexico, but what drives them has been a mystery. The findings were reported Tuesday in the British-based journal BMC Biology.

The last two years have seen an exponential increase in the rate of gene discovery, thanks in large part to the advancements in so-called genotyping chip technology. These small glass or silicon platforms have made quick and easy work of simultaneously analyzing hundreds of thousands of genetic variations that exist in the human genome. The screens detect single-letter changes in the DNA code known as single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs (pronounced "snips").

A genetic mutation that originally protected Africans from a virulent form of malaria now renders them 40% more susceptible to HIV infections, offering a partial explanation for the disproportionate spread of the virus among Africans and African Americans, researchers reported today. The mutation, however, has an unusual benefit. It also slows progression of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, giving patients an extra two years of life, said Dr. Sunil K.

As the epitome of sociability, the honeybee is a living engine of selfless domesticity, caretaking colonies of kin that have fascinated generations of behaviorists. Like any employee climbing the corporate ladder, honeybee workers go through changes in behavior with each new assignment in the hive, transforming from housebound nest nurses into field explorers that may travel more than 550 miles in a lifetime in search of pollen and nectar.

A team of Long Island scientists has scanned the entire human genome for evidence of genes that play a role in schizophrenia and has discovered a hot spot near two genes that regulate the immune system. Dr. Anil Malhotra and Todd Lencz of the Zucker Hillside Hospital campus of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Glen Oaks, N.Y., found that certain markers within these genes were more common in patients with schizophrenia than in those without a history of the mental illness.

Michigan researchers have identified a gene that is associated with an aggressive form of breast cancer. They reported Thursday in the journal Cell that the gene, called FOXP3, suppresses the activity of another gene, HER-2, that is commonly found in aggressive tumors. When one copy of the FOXP3 gene is silenced in mice, 90% of the animals develop breast cancer. Researchers found the mutated form of the gene in 80% of samples taken from human breast tumors.

Quitting smoking lowers the risk of heart disease and stroke quickly, but the risk of lung cancer goes down very slowly. A new study may help explain why. The report, published in the online journal BMC Genomics, compared genes in the lung tissue of eight current smokers, 12 former smokers and four people who'd never smoked. The researchers found that smoking changes the activity of certain genes. In ex-smokers, some of those changes reverse to normal, but others don't.

A component of body odor can be perceived as sweet like vanilla, foul like urine or like nothing at all depending on what kind of genes a person carries, according to a new study. The study, published online this week by the journal Nature, is the first to demonstrate a human gene's influence on odor perception, said Charles Wysocki, a neuroscientist at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia who was not involved in the study.

A team of French and Italian researchers has mapped the genome of the pinot noir grape, used to make Champagne and many red wines. It has about 30,000 genes in its DNA, the researchers reported Thursday in the journal Nature. That's more than the human genome, which contains some 20,000 to 25,000 genes. The team said its research had confirmed that the grape has an unusually high number of genes dedicated to producing flavor.