The effort, called the Clam Project, is the first step toward sequencing the entire clam genome, and its goal is to provide scientists with better knowledge of the clam’s active DNA. Such information is crucial to the study of the basic cellular processes involved in many diseases. The scientists plan to use the new genetic information to create antibodies. And they hope to begin experiments impossible without those antibodies as soon as the project is complete.
The research team includes: Avram Hershko of Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Yosef Gruenbaum of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Robert Palazzo of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Robert Goldman of Northwestern University.
The research is made possible through the generous support of the Manhattan-based Gruss Lipper Family Foundation.
The Marine Biological Laboratory is an international, independent, nonprofit institution dedicated to improving the human condition through creative research and education in the biological, biomedical and environmental sciences. Founded in 1888, the MBL is the oldest private marine laboratory in the Western Hemisphere.