The global effort to genetically map 70,000 animal species
The Vertebrate Genomes Project is an international group of scientists who plan to sequence the genomes of about 70,000 species — starting with the platypus. ilbusca/Getty Images hide caption
The Vertebrate Genomes Project is an international group of scientists who plan to sequence the genomes of about 70,000 species — starting with the platypus.
ilbusca/Getty ImagesThe Vertebrate Genomes Project: It's an ambitious effort by an international group of scientists to create a "Genome Ark" by sequencing the genomes of about 70,000 animal species. The hope is that through all of this gene sequencing, scientists will be able to answer some basic but important questions like: What makes a bird, well, a bird? What makes a mammal a mammal? Plus, with so many species on the verge of extinction, can scientists record their genetic information before they go extinct – or better yet, maybe help save the population from going extinct? Guest host Jon Hamilton, one of our favorite science correspondents, talks to Erich Jarvis, the chair of this project, to learn what this ark of animal genomes could mean for our future – and why a platypus qualified for early boarding.
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This episode was produced by Jessica Yung. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. Kwesi Lee was the audio engineer.