genome

‘Sleep gene’ offers clues about why we need our zzzs

By Eric Sorensen, WSU science writer SPOKANE, Wash. – Washington State University researchers have seen how a particular gene is involved in the quality of sleep experienced by three different animals, including humans. The gene and its function open a new avenue for scientists exploring how sleep works and why animals need it so badly.

WSU helps map quinoa genome, improve ‘super food’

By Seth Truscott, College of Agricultural, Human & Natural Resource Sciences PULLMAN, Wash. – Discovery of the first high-quality genome of quinoa, published this week in Nature, could help create healthier, tastier varieties of this protein-packed “super food.”

‘Big data’ leads to better trees via $3 million grant

By Seth Truscott, College of Agricultural, Human & Natural Resource Sciences PULLMAN, Wash. – Scientists at Washington State University are harnessing the power of “big data” to help growers create the next generation of healthy, sustainable forests and tree crops.

WSU geneticist helps solve mystery of Arctic peoples

By Eric Sorensen, WSU science writer PULLMAN, Wash. – With help from a Washington State University population geneticist, Danish researchers have concluded that North America and the Arctic were settled in at least three pulses of migration from Siberia. First came the ancestors of today’s Native Americans, then Paleo-Eskimos – the first to settle in […]

Researcher sees survival story in fly’s small genome

By Eric Sorensen, WSU science writer PULLMAN, Wash. – Few animals can boast of being as tough as the Antarctic midge. Its larvae develop over not one but two Antarctic winters, losing nearly half their body mass each time. It endures high winds, salt and intense ultraviolet radiation. As an adult, the midge gets by […]

International team sequences rainbow trout genome

By Eric Sorensen, WSU science writer PULLMAN, Wash. – Using fish bred at Washington State University, an international team of researchers has mapped the genetic profile of the rainbow trout, a versatile salmonid whose relatively recent genetic history opens a window into how vertebrates evolve.