In the science corner...

Scientific history is being made by Cinnamon, a 4-year-old Abyssinian cat, who now has most of her DNA decoded. This important step benefits both felines as well as humans since cats get upwards of 200 diseases that are similar to what we humans get. By understanding a cat's DNA, researchers can develop vaccines and treatments that address both species. Currently, there is a cat version of AIDS, SARS, diabetes, retinal disease, and spina bifida that has been identified.

This new work, based at the National Cancer Institute in Frederick, Maryland, identifies 20,285 genes in the cat, which is about 95 percent of their full DNA map. That's similar to the 20,000-25,000 genes estimated for us humans.

The underlying report at Genome Research was also used for this summary.