University of Wisconsin–Madison
The last known Pyrenean ibex, a wild goat named Celia, died more than two decades ago, the victim of a falling branch. But before she died, scientists managed to biopsy her skin and stash the sample in a freezer. They were already envisioning a future in which cloning might enable geneticists to bring species back …
In 2015, genetics professor Francisco Pelegrí launched a course called Developmental Genetics for Conservation and Regeneration that ties directly to his ongoing research program. The aim is to have students think about how they could use molecular genetics to preserve biodiversity. Students learn about topics from cellular reprogramming to synthetic biology. “Pretty much everything I’ve …
Xuehua Zhong, an assistant professor of genetics, studies epigenetics, a growing area of research focused on how chemical tags on DNA can change the expression of genes. She and her team at the Zhong Lab of Epigenetic Regulation, located at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, are especially interested in the modification of genes involved in …