Scientists to Map DNA of Kangaroos
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
The kangaroo will join the mouse, the dog and the human in having all its genes mapped, U.S. and Australian scientists said this week. The idea is to add to the variety of animals whose DNA is fully sequenced so they can be compared genetically to humans, thus shedding light on disease and basic biology.
Because the kangaroo is a marsupial -- in which babies develop in a pouch -- and relatively distantly related to humans, differences between it and other mammals such as humans should offer insights into the biology of reproduction.
