Butterfly’s epic journey comes to light
Monarch’s genetic blueprint decoded
In a step toward understanding the remarkable navigational prowess of monarch butterflies, scientists from the University of Massachusetts Medical School have sequenced the genome of an insect that each fall flits on gossamer wings from the eastern United States to a 300-square-mile patch in the mountains of Mexico. Yesterday, they announced a powerful new tool to probe big questions about the underpinnings of the butterfly’s remarkable abilities: the half-billion letters that make up the butterfly’s DNA blueprint.
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