More Macaque

As you've probably already heard, George Allen's favorite primate has had its genome sequenced. I promised to blog on the article, but this is not the post. Instead, this post is to kvetch about the coverage of this story in the popular press. It's another adventure in bad science reporting!

Here are two examples of people misreporting the sequencing of a macaque genome:

• The Los Angeles Times reports that the "Macaque genome is decoded". They also report, "A team of researchers has deciphered the genome of the rhesus macaque". Decoded and deciphered, but not sequenced. Thomas H. Maugh II, Times Staff Writer, you are on the list.

• CNN says, "New monkey gene map may hold human clues". Freddy Sturtevant mapped genomes, these guys sequenced, annotated, and analyzed the macaque genome. CNN also says, "Researchers decipher rhesus macaque's DNA, compare with human, chimp DNA", and the AP story reports, "Scientists have unraveled the DNA of another of our primate relatives". Unraveled? That's a new one to me.

Coming soon: a treatment of the science in the papers. There is some cool stuff on genome rearrangements and gene duplications. And Ryan "I Only Drink Fancy Coffee" Hernandez has a paper on demography and linkage disequilibrium in rhesus macaque populations.