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Nick Patterson is a man of many stories. Currently a Computational Biologist in the Ó³»­´«Ã½â€™s Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Nick’s past lives have been as intriguing as his current research in mathematics and evolutionary biology.

As we begin the second half of 2010, a look back in the timeline of interesting – we hope – dates in science reveals that on July 1,1858 Charles Darwin first went public about his views on the evolution of species.

Flip-flop season is upon us and it’s time for beach reading to commence. If you’re like me, by now you’ve had your fill of mystery novels and thrillers and want to cuddle up with something that has a bit more science to it. With a little help from friends around the Ó³»­´«Ã½, I’ve put together a list of some of the science-themed books (both fiction and nonfiction) I’m hoping to read this summer – maybe you’d like to read them too.

Here’s what’s on my summer reading bookshelf:

-Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis

Results from the first three pilot studies of the 1000 Genomes Project, an international gene sequencing effort designed to capture variations in the human genome, were publicly released on Monday, June 21. The project is the first of its kind. When complete, this self-titled "Deep Catalog of Human Genetic Variation" aims to fully document the genetic changes found with 1 percent frequency or more in human populations.

Every cell in the human body contains an identical genome — the collection of genes and DNA that direct the body's creation, development and growth. But the human body contains many different cell types: skin cells, immune cells, muscle cells, etc. If the genome is the same, why are all these cells different? Evidence is increasingly pointing to the epigenome — a set of proteins and chemical modifications that decorate the DNA sequence — as a driving factor behind this differentiation process.