Research Highlights

Garfield, A.S. et al. (2011), 'Distinct physiological and behavioural functions for parental alleles of imprinted Grb10', Nature Vol. 469, pp. 534-538.The genomes of Theobroma cacao (chocolate) and Fragaria vesca (strawberry) have been reported this month. These will undoubtedly provide us with valuable information concerning flavour genes, as well as genes relating to products of nutritional value. F. vesca is also of value as an experimental model system, as it is easily transformable, hardy and has a fast generation time. T. cacao, unlike F. vesca, is far from hardy and needs some help. As the primary source of high-quality chocolate, this particular cacao variety is of great economic (and gastronomic) interest. Much of the crop is lost to pests and other natural hardships, however, and hardier varieties of cacao do not produce chocolate of the same quality. No word yet on a cacao/vesca hybrid.Argout, X. et al. (2011), 'The genome of Theobroma cacao', Nat. Genet. Vol. 43, pp. 101-109.Shulaev, V. et al. (2011), 'The genome of woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca)', Nat. Genet. Vol. 43, pp. 109-116.Previous work has suggested that daily low-dose aspirin might decrease the risk of certain cancers, such as colorectal cancer and cancers of the gastrointestinal tract. As the trials have become more rigorous, however, the actual benefit has appeared to decrease. A recent meta-analysis of trials addressing this issue has finally generated strong evidence for decreased risk. Risk was decreased by about 20 per cent for many common cancers and for widely different populations. The surprise was the length of time necessary for this effect to manifest. A minimum of five years of daily aspirin seems to be required, with some cancers showing decreased risk only after 20 years.Rothwell, P.M. et al. (2011), 'Effect of daily aspirin on long-term risk of death due to cancer: analysis of individual patient data from randomised trials', Lancet Vol. 377, pp. 31-41.Fragile X syndrome is