Ok, I'm just gonna say it and get it out of the way. Global warming. Wait! Don't stop reading! I actually have something interesting and unexpected to tell you. Here it is: Oceanographers have figured out they can use gene chips to predict how climate change will effect ocean life. No, really, they can. Here's how they did it:
First, they grew a bunch of larval purple sea urchins and exposed them to 10 degree shifts in temperature. Using gene chips, they were able to get a close up look at the gene HSP70. This gene is particularly sensitive to temperature changes--it's what they call a "stress" gene--so when the larval urchin is exposed to stress in the form of temperature increase it changes the cell growth so the urchin can survive in its new environment. Or, as Dr. Gretchen Hofmann, one of the principal scientists on the project says: "The gene says: 'Whoa, it's hot.'" Anyway, what the gene chip showed them was that in the increased temperature environment the gene was working overtime. In other words: these urchins are pretty good at adapting to temperature changes in their environment.
But that's not all. The scientists then went down to their local gas company and bought a bunch of artificial atmosphere. They exposed the larval urchins to varying levels of carbon dioxide (the amount that's present in ocean environments now and expected increases in levels over the next several years). Then they did the gene chip experiment again. Guess what they found? The HSP70 gene was, well, not really doing its job. Hoffman wasn't ready to reveal all the data yet, but she said the urchins weren't looking so good. In other words, the gene's stress response to the increased temperature was reduced due to the carbon dioxide exposure. Neat!
What does this all mean? Lot's of things. First, now we know how urchins are going to react to climate change. Duh. Next, it has some interesting cross-purpose implications for new and old technologies. And, finally, it's pretty clear that we need to keep on plugging at sequencing as many genomes as we can. After all, if it wasn't for the Sea Urchin Genome Sequencing Consortium this research wouldn't have been possible!
