New research reveals broad new avenues for genetic analysis

Scientists at the University of Bristol have found a new technique that could increase the amount of genetic information held on various animals by around 70 to 80 percent.

The team has created a means of using cutting-edge analysis tools to directly observe the genes and all the proteins they make, which they tested in a study of human cells infected with a common cold virus.

It was shown that the resulting list of genes and proteins, when compared to the genetic information already known about humans and cold virus, proved far more robust than those extracted through traditional methods.

This could revolutionise understanding of animal genetics and disease, particularly in terms of dangerous viruses that jump from animals to humans.

Lead study author Dr David Matthews, senior lecturer in virology at the University of Bristol's School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, said: "These findings open up the potential to take powerful analysis tools currently used to study human diseases and apply them to study any animal, insect or even plants."

This comes in the same week that the university received a 1.1 million pound funding boost for synthetic biology research.