Monday, Nov. 30, 2009
Utah Statesman The
Campus Voice since 1902
Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.aggietownsquare.com
USU dean and VP receives nearly $1 million grant By CHELSEY GENSEL staff writer
Noelle Cockett, USU vice president for Extensions and Agriculture and dean of the College of Agriculture, was granted $930,000 by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for a research project aiming to map the entire sheep genome. Cockett and a team of researchers in the United States, New Zealand, Australia, France and the U.K. are collaborating to map, identify and sequence ovine, or sheep, DNA so there will be a complete genome as a point of reference for scientists, breeders and farmers. Cockett’s grant is specifically for the analysis of the sequences that are being generated in other labs around the world. She said many mammals have been thoroughly sequenced, and sheep are logically next in line with other livestock species. She said research to map the DNA of fish has begun. “It started with humans, which took billions of dollars. Now, they’ve done elephant, honeybee, dog, cat, pig, horse, then turkey is coming up here,” Cockett said. “It took $55 million for cattle, and we’re going to do sheep with just $2 million.” The mapping consists of taking millions of short sequences, consisting of a couple hundred to more than 1,000 “bases” – abbreviated A, T, C and G – and ordering and connecting the segments, Cockett said. She has been involved in sheep genetics since she came to USU in 1990 and now coordinates the U.S. side of the
international sheep research project, officially called “Assembly of the Ovine Whole Genome Reference Sequence.” Because it can serve as a reference when complete, the project will allow research like that done at Cockett’s biotechnology lab at USU to be compared to that reference and isolate the genes responsible for specific traits, diseases or deformities and allow geneticists and sheep breeders to produce better animals. For example, callipyge, a trait in which sheep have enlarged buttocks, is favorable for animals being used for meat. In research, it was found that a specific set of bases in humans, mice and sheep control this recessive genetic trait, but in certain sheep, one of the base pairs varies. “We have our sheep out by the dairy just cruisin‘ around, and some have very large buttocks,” Cockett said. “That A (base) became a G and boom, they got big bums.” The mapping of the sheep genome does not benefit only sheep farmers, however. Cockett explained that some results of the research helps geneticists learn more about the human genome, as well. For example, the gene responsible for parasite resistance in sheep may relate to immunity in humans. Wool growth, researchers learned, comes from keratin production – the same protein responsible for human hair and fingernail growth. Traits like multiple births and milk production may also match with the genes responsible for those characteristics in humans. Spider-lamb syndrome, which has been studied at USU and is a deformity in lambs that causes the limbs to grow longer than usual and
RYAN NELSON, lab technician and philosophy major, demonstrates how to isolate DNA in the biotechnology lab. A grant of $930,000 was recently awarded to Noelle Cockett, USU vice president for Extensions and Agriculture and dean of the College of Agriculture, for a research project that will map the entire sheep genome. PETE P. SMITHSUTH photo
thus bend inward, turned out to match gene sequences in several other species and produces an opposite effect in humans – it is the part of the genome responsible for dwarfism, Cockett said. To find those results, Cockett said overlapping pieces from various species have to be
aligned so the differences between the species can be seen. Each lab in the countries involved with the project does the same analysis one piece at a time. She said there are three times
- See GRANT, page 18
Aggies sport mustaches to support men’s health 30 days hath September, April, June and Movember By BENJAMIN WOOD news senior writer
A number of student mustaches will be shaved Monday night as Mustache-November, or Movember, comes to a close. Among the participating men are representatives of the Associated Students of USU and members of the Latter-day Voices Institute Choir. “Movember (the month formerly known as November) is a mustache-growing charity event held during November each year that raises funds and awareness for men’s health,” according to the Movember Web site. The Movember Foundation is run by donations and raises money for the study of treatments and cures for men’s cancers, specifically prostate and testicular. According
to the site, money raised in the U.S. this year will be split between the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Lance Armstrong Foundation. “It’s a global phenomenon,” said Rick Kelly, ASUSU vice president of graduate studies. Movember began at USU largely due to Kelly’s efforts. His interest was perked, he said, when he read on Lance Armstrong’s Twitter that the multiple Tour de France winning cyclist mentioned growing a mustache for Movember. Kelly looked into Movember, ordered a package of promotional materials and campaigned for support. “I’m against cancer, and I’m for mustaches, so it was a winwin,” Kelly said. With Kelly’s encouragement, other ASUSU officers – including President Tyler Tolson, Executive Vice President Spencer Lee and Academic Senate President Ben Croshaw – followed suit by growing mustaches and encouraging other students to participate. Kelly suspects some 60-70 students have grown facial hair to support the cause. Lee said he had never grown facial hair for more than a few days before Movember, and it took around two weeks for anyone
to notice that he hadn’t shaved. “I wasn’t getting any love,” Lee said. Kelly said, “Spencer Lee is the most committed mustachegrower because his is, by far, the ugliest. The sacrifice he’s making is phenomenal.” Without an abundance of facial-hair growth, Lee said he received jabs from ecclesiastical leaders, relatives and acquaintances throughout the month. Facing ridicule, Lee said he would wait until “the bitter end” before shaving to support the cause. “It’s been terrible. I cannot wait for Dec. 1,” Lee said. Lee said he was able to direct a number of people to the Movember Web site and convince a few students to grow mustaches of their own. Tolson said he has gone through a number of varieties of style throughout the month. He began with a “fu manchu,” which he then reduced to merely the “fu” but still didn’t feel confident about. “I still didn’t feel like I could talk to any girls,” Tolson said.
- See HEALTH, page 3
MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATED STUDENTS OF USU show off the mustaches they’ve grown for Movember. Movember is held through the month of November and aims at creating awareness and support for men’s health. CODY GOCHNOUR photo
Inside This Issue
11/30/09 Utah State football sent the seniors out winners by beating the University of Idaho Saturday, 52-49 Page 13
Christmas toys of the past bring back childhood memories. Page 4
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