What's New
Epigenetics: This area of study is currently a major focus. The National Institute of Health just announced 8 Million Dollars in Grants for "Epigenetics of Human Health and Disease". Epigenetics is dealing with gene expression that are stable from generation to generation. These Epigenetic variations are truly "Epi" "Genetic" or on top of the genome. The major focus of epigenetics is gene expression. How do genes come on and off, what triggers them, the vast DNA that is outside of the coding regions of DNA.
Here is a Great Video To watch.
Metagenomics: This new area of study seems to be revolutionizing our understanding of Life on earth. Basically, DNA is extracted from an environmental sample. DNA is amplified from a 16s ribosomal subunit. This is part of a living things machinery to make proteins. Since all living things have it, and the fact that it is highly conserved, the sequence can serve as a unique marker for living things. Scientists can look at the results from healthy ecosystems, polluted, stressed, and many other scenarios. This has lead to a new Tree of life. One obvious change is the sheer numbers of prokaryotes (non-nucleated cells).
Figure 3: Tree of Life from the Joint Genome Institute