Current research in evolutionary biology

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[edit] Current Research

See also: Ancestral Reconstruction, Human Genome Project, Bioinformatics, and Evolutionary developmental biology

Evolution is an active field of research in the scientific community. Improvements in sequencing methods have resulted in a large increase of sequenced genomes, allowing for the testing and refining of the theory of evolution with respect to whole genome data. Advances in computational hardware and software have allowed for the testing and extrapolation of increasingly advanced evolutionary models. Discoveries in biotechnology have produced methods for the de novo synthesis of proteins and, potentially, entire genomes, driving evolutionary studies at the molecular level.

[edit] Micro RNA

Small RNA or micro RNA (miRNA) appears highly significant in regulation of gene expression during development. ^[1][2][3] Micro RNA's contribution to evolution is considered an epigenetic mechanism in evolutionary developmental biology. Micro RNA appears to constitute 1% of the human genome. Scientists are designing silencing interference micro RNA in the hopes of shutting down genes involved in cancer, diseases, and the contribution of genes in developmental biology.