Hi. How come your hair's so short? Photo: star5112/Flickr
Elaine A. Ostrander, chief of the Institute's cancer genetics branch, studied the DNA of more than 1,000 dogs, representing about 90 different breeds, according to NPR. "You can go to the dog park, and every breed of dog looks different from every other breed, it seems. Yet, you know, when we get down to the molecular biology, we really find that it's a combination of three different genes that accounts for all that variation," Ostrander told NPR.
Ostrander and her colleagues found that short-haired dogs like beagles have the ancestral form of each of the three genes -- the same versions found in wolves, which dogs are descended from. Changes to those genes lead to traits like wiry fur, long hair, or beards. Curlicues like Portuguese water dogs have a variation in each of the three genes, reports MSNBC.
So why are scientists at the Human Genome Institute working on dog hair? Instead of studying each gene one by one, the research team wants to know how the three genes work together to produce a particular type of fur, MSNBC reports. Understanding how genes work together is important, since many human diseases are thought to be caused by several faulty genes.
"We think this approach will help pinpoint multiple genes involved in complex human conditions, such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity," Ostrander told MSNBC.
Think of that next time you're vacuuming up hairballs.
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i am all too familiar with the proverbial hair of the dog:-D
Yeah, I'm doing some "Hair O the Dog" right now...
Does no one proofread these articles for spelling and grammar errors? AOL has far too many of these and it's truly offensive.
To what offensive errors are you referring, Jazz?
When I said "offensive", I meant that the number of spelling and grammatical errors in AOL's reporting is, to me, offensive. People get paid, I assume, to write these things and the least they could do is run a spelling and/or grammar check. But, here are the ones in this article that troubled me.
"Curlicues like Portuguese water dogs have a variation in each of the three genes, reports MSNBC."
I assume they mean "Curlicues, like Portuguese Water Dogs have, are a variation in each of the three genes, reports MSNBC."
"Instead of studying each gene one by one, the research team wants to know how the three genes work together to to produce a particular type of fur,"
A repeat of the word "to" is simply a typing error which should, and would, have been picked up by an editor or a simple grammar checker.
"We think this approach with help pinpoint multiple genes involved in complex human conditions, such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity," Ostrander told MSNBC."
Again, probably a simple typing error in using the word "with" when apparently, the word should have been "will".
It simply bothers me that we no longer put any value into being well-written, articulate human beings.
AOL employees are not actually writing these stories. AOL pays news organizations to provide the content on their site. It doesn't excuse the typos etc, but perhaps you can now find someone else to blame.
Excellent comment
I disagree with Beverly. Some of the most intelligent people in the world are bad spellers.
Get over it and stop being so critical
BAD SPELLERS OF THE WORLD UNTIE
HMMMMM - DOG HAIR HUH? WELL, IM FAT AND HAVE DIABETES. SO THE NEXT TIME THE NEIGHBOR'S DOG IS OUT, IM GONNA RUN RIGHT OUT AND CHEW ON HIS FUR.
Well, let me save you a trip...and the embarrassment! It doesn't work that way...I'm fat and have diabetes too and have had TWO house dogs for 8 years, one long haired and one short haired.......and you can bet there is ALWAYS hair all over the place, even gets in our mouths at times....and no change. :(
Don't bother. I have a poodle - he has lots of hair - and Diabetes!!! Guess that theory is a bust.
I just needed to add....I am fat and a diabetic..I have refrained from eating the hair but believe me it sticks to me,my clothes, and my furniture.
Just to be safe I believe this is free of grammatical errors.
Very funny! Ha ha! Great comment! I laughed-out-loud (lol) when I read it just now...tee-hee! To all the ppl out there in cyber-land reading this....humor is important, & did u know it burns calories? Go ahead & laugh a little! ha ha ha! :-)
Jazz, take your head out of your backside and take the information for what it's worth. YOU know what they're talking about and so does everyone else. If you can do a better job than apply for it!
REMEMBERING ! JEEZZOPETE, I WAS JUST KIDDING ABOUT GOING OUT AND CHEWING ON THE DOG. THERE'S A NASTY THING ABOUT THAT DOG (I WAS JUST INFORMED_. IT HUMPS EVERYTHING IT SEES. EWWWW
You guys need to KEEP YOUR ADS TO YOURSELF!! I for one will NEVER buy this product now!! If you want to put an ad on here do it where it's supposed to be, NOT on comments meant for a specific article not even related!
DISGUSTING TO SAY THE LEAST
Actually, my comment will be short and sweet....while this is an interesteing article, I fear for the safety of animals that have fur...ie..dogs, cats, rabbits..etc. There are some foul, greedy people out there with no consciences and that could lead to trouble with a capital T!!!!! Sorry to disillusion you.
OOPS!! MY BAD!! I did just what "Jazz" said was offensive..lol...and I'm usually quite good at spelling, after all, I'm 65 years old and I majored in English. So I humbly apologize for the word interesting with an extra "e"....sorry Jazz...must have had a senior moment. :'(
Well, I'm 65 and I majored in English and I'm fat and I have diabetes and I have a dog that sheds all the time and I am having a senior moment and I can't remember why I started writing this.
Jazz & Beverly--U gurlz need to lighten up. For gosh sake, this is an informal email response forum. You are not writing a term paper, or a thesis here. Are u writing for a newspaper or magazine? No! Most email replies and blog forums are informal style. I did not even notice the typo-errors until u both pointed them out, ha! Relax! I speed-read through these things. Yes, in a perfect world we'd all spell and write better. I work in public school with kidz (ages 11 to 14) half of them can't even write a decent paragraph, what to speak of penmenship. It's a lost art. They are all great on computers though,ha, and some of the older kidz can text many 60 or 70 words per minute-by high school, all in shorthand ofc. ha! The original point of the article here was about "Dogs Hair" & a possible new scientific arena into the world of research, relating to diseases like diabetes and others. Imagine a cure. I think this is wonderful. My husband is a diabetic in severe pain 24/7. By the time they truly "discover" a cure it will be too late for him as the disease is wreaking havoc on his body & organs. It is very sad to see a loved one go through this. I pray for a cure for all those suffering from the various diseases. Let's be positive, wait and see what happens. Peace to u all. Life's short....plz be kind to one another.