Genetic Make up for Platypuses...

[honeychile]

Our dog is a Bichon Frise. There's always been some skepticism about their genetic makeup, and so a geneticist is trying to prove exactly what it is (water or other spaniel, poodle, etc). I haven't had the time to really read what all is involved, but I'll keep you all posted!

[AKA_Monet]

Originally Posted by honeychile

Our dog is a Bichon Frise. There's always been some skepticism about their genetic makeup, and so a geneticist is trying to prove exactly what it is (water or other spaniel, poodle, etc). I haven't had the time to really read what all is involved, but I'll keep you all posted!

How much did you pay? The scientists generally do Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms (RFLP) analysis. They have known markers of various breed of dogs that the scientists can tell one breed versus another.

We had to do this with the "GMO mice" we had and used Charles River Labs. It was called microsatellite markers. Other ways are through SNP analysis and haplotype analysis. Says nothing of phenotype...

Based on how much you all paid, is the type of analysis the scientist did.

If you want me to give you a read, I can review the data as you get it. PM me if you want to know more.

[honeychile]

The scientist is so happy to have volunteers, it's free! I only have to pay for a personal copy of the analysis (under $10).

There is a whole new field of genealogy that combines genealogy with DNA. If you've ever heard of Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak (yes, she married someone with the same last name), she's the standard bearer. She traced both her and her husband's lineage to a small town in Slovakia, where they found four main families of Smolenyaks. Somehow, she got a company to sponsor her, and she tested all of them. It turned out that there were only three branches of Smolenyaks, and the fourth were step-children/ancestors. This was about four years ago, so I'm going to hear her lecture in a few weeks, and hope there's an update.

Speaking about dinosaurs, if you're ever in Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museum has an amazing display! Off the top of my head, there's a complete T-Rex, an apotosaurus (sp), a stegasaurus, and two others, and several smaller incomplete ones. I think every kid in the surrounding counties have seen them on one field trip or another!