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April 4, 2015
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By Zaria Gorvett

The Unsung Heroes Of Biomedical Research

Asian Scientist Magazine brings you the motley crew of model organisms that pioneered discovery in the 21st century.

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#4 THE THALE CREST PLANT – Arabidopsis thaliana

Despised as a weed, delicious in salads; this scientific superstar is both the most well-studied flowering plant in history and the most obscure organism on this list. Arabidopsis thaliana, or thale cress, has a short life, unfussy requirements and a compact genome, features that make it suitable for studying development, metabolism and disease resistance in crops. Remarkably, scientists have identified 100 Arabidopsis genes which are closely related to human disease genes. In fact, many basic cellular processes in Arabidopsis genes have counterparts in animals.

unsung-heroes-the-thale-cress-plant

#Aging #Bacteriophage #Genetics #Human genome #Japan #JAXA #Nicotine #Nobel Prize #Viruses

Zaria Gorvett

Zaria Gorvett is a freelance science writer based in the UK. She graduated with a bachelors degree in biological science from the University of Exeter, UK and a masters degree in medical microbiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK.

Zaria Gorvett

Zaria Gorvett is a freelance science writer based in the UK. She graduated with a bachelors degree in biological science from the University of Exeter, UK and a masters degree in medical microbiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK.

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