Venue/Location: Mission Theater, 1624 N.W. Glisan St., Phone: (503) 224-0166
Date: Tuesday, February 15, 2011 - 7:00 PM
Promiscuous DNA: The Invasion, Spread, and Impact of Mobile Genes
Mission Theater & Pub
7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Doors open at 5:00pm.
Science Pub is open to ages 21+, or minor with adult.
$3 suggested cover charge, No RSVP or tickets required.
If you think genomes are mainly composed of genes, think again! Whole genome sequencing has paved the way for us to find out what we are in an entirely new way. This Science Pub will focus on the most recent discoveries in genome science, especially the prominence of mobile, parasitic genes that, in humans, account for more than half of the genome. The talk will also include exciting tales of rapid genome expansion, the rampant exchange of genetic material that occurs between species, and how finding out that most of our genome is full of “junk” makes us even more fascinating!
Dr. Sarah Schaack is a post-doctoral fellow working in bioinformatics and genomics at Lewis and Clark College. Her work on mobile DNA, mutation, and the evolution of the genome has been published in premier journals, including Science and Nature, and has been featured in the popular cyber press, such as Science Daily.