Mendel's Garden #15 - Summer Reading Edition

Welcome to the 15th edition of Mendel's Garden.

This month Gregor wanted to compile a summer reading list for all those going to the beach. But watch out, a sandy keyboard is never good!

So here we go:

First off, Gregor would like to point out this very interestin peice on what exactly caused wrinkling in his peas, you remeber don't you - the wrinkled versus smooth phenotype. Well Larry Moran at Sandwalk informs us that the wrinkling phenotype was cause by a defect in a gene that encodes a starch branching enzyme. How very interesting.

For some great summer reading, Gregor suggests that you peruse the online collection of Darwin's letters. GrrlScientist at Living the Scientific Life has all the details.

For some serious reading there is Sandra Porter's newest, entitled Open Access vs. Genetic Privacy. From the cover-flap: How do we balance the goal of open access with the right to privacy? If I make my genome public am I stomping on the rights of my children?

How about a romance novel? ... well we don't exactly have anything to offer in this category but we do have a great entry by Paul Decelles on Sex in humans: It's a delicate balance posted at The force that through....

Current affairs? Then check out this public policy post by Hsien-Hsien Lei entitled Want a job? Submit your DNA.

Another big public policy issue is energy. We don't have any reading matterial to offer you about oil, solar or wind power, but instead Gregor suggests that you read this excellent post by RPM. In this opinion piece we get his take on the latest in mitochondrial genetics.

How about a mystery novel? Well then check out my post on how new research on how siRNAs silence transcription and how this may have revealed how chromatin modification acts to silence genes. (Hint: it's not by inhibiting transcription!)

How about some tell-all trash novel? Putdown that copy of National Enquirer, and read Cat Fight Over Diabetes Genes over at Eye on DNA.

Looking for a good serries? Well instead of Stephen King, why don't you check out the latest in T. Ryan Gregory's series on non-coding DNA, where he discusses Junctional DNA.

How about some summer bird-watching? GrrlScientist tells us about Song and Plumage Evolution in New World Orioles. So does the speed and character of changes in morphological and behavioral traits in closely-related species reveal anything about the evolutionary relationships between taxa?

Are you getting tired of reading and would rather take a nap and catchup on your tan? Coturnix at A Blog Around the Clock explains how Sleep Genes are not the same as 'Genes for sleep'.

So that's it for this edition of Mendel's Garden. Enjoy the sun and the beach, I know Gregor will.

Stay tuned for the next edition of Mendel's Garden at Eye on DNA.