By comparing sequences that evolved from a common ancestor, we can infer their phylogenetic relationships, discover sites under functional constraint, or even shed light on the function of individual sequence elements.
Such individuals could shed light on the function of many genes and point to new drug targets if the knocked-out gene somehow protects against disease.
Studying healthy people who are missing genes could also shed light on the function of genes that aren't well understood, MacArthur and his co-authors suggest.
In the longer term, experiments like these could even shed light on the function of sleep itself, says Pierre Maquet, a neurobiologist at the University of Liège in Belgium, although he cautions that what's true for sparrows won't necessarily apply to humans.
Still, the new research may shed light on the functions of emotions and their biological basis, as well as different emotional disorders, Nummenmaa said.
Future studies are warranted to shed light on the function of the Alp-like motif (AM).
The bulldog mutations are the first animal model to shed light on the function of Sec24D during embryonic development.
Although these studies have shed light on the function of the catalytic α-subunits in the SnRK1 complexes, the biological function of γ-type subunits and their effects on plant development are so far unknown.
To shed light on the function of the human mitochondrial FAS II, we used mice as a model system and report here generation of an artificial imbalance in the expression of Mecr when it is put under the control of the mouse metallothionein-1 (MT-1) promoter.
The CGI/promoter overlaps shed light on the function of DNA methylation on gene expressions.
