Sequencing the genome of Lil Bub

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Vincent Willis
5 years ago
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1 Researcher Contact Info: Daniel Ibrahim, Sequencing the genome of Lil Bub April 24th, 2015 One year ago, molecular biologist Dario Lupianez sent a cat video of internet celebrity Lil Bub to his friend Daniel Ibrahim, both of them post-doctoral researchers at Berlin s Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics. Immediately after watching the video, Daniel and his colleague decided that they had to sequence the cat s genome. Lil Bub is famous because of her genetic mutations that cause her to be so cute. These abnormalities affect Lil Bub s development, including bones that become more dense as she ages, extra digits on every paw, and a shorter snout that causes her tongue to always stick out. This peculiar phenotype causes Lil Bub s cuteness, which has drawn millions of followers across the internet. Now, there is a research team that is looking to uncover the secret behind Lil Bub s cute face. The newly launched campaign on Experiment is raising funds to carry out the research and is giving fans a chance to be involved with the science behind the magic. Dario Lupianez, Daniel Ibrahim, and Orsolya Symmons are scientists whose daily work is to examine and understand rare genetic mutations in humans. When they first came across Lil Bub, they immediately wondered, what is the cause of this? The mutation is really interesting, because it didn t fit with anything we d seen before. We ve seen each of these disorders like polydactyly and osteopetrosis individually, but we wondered if the phenotype was a combination of different known mutations or if it was novel disease, says Daniel. The international Lil Bubome team is looking to raise $6,000 through the website Experiment to sequence the genome from a blood sample taken last year. The researchers have been working on this as a side project because they are so curious to know the answer. In the long run, we can start putting these puzzle pieces together for a bigger, more detailed picture: if we have data about the different causes for osteopetrosis and the treatments that work for one form but not another, then more targeted ( personalized ) therapies could be prescribed. If successful, the project s findings will be published and shared openly, where backers will be recognized as part of the project. The team also has an active blog at Lil Bub has spawned a TV show, books, and plush toys, and has been spotted with such celebrities as Andrew W.K., Michelle Obama, and Whoopi Goldberg. Project Link To learn more about the project, the budget, and the team, visit:

2 About Experiment The platform, Experiment, has raised over $1.6M in total funding for crowdsourced projects. Scientists using the platform have been featured in The Economist, Forbes, Nature, and The New York Times. Contact: Video URL: Artwork and Images

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