A team led by Dana-Farber researchers has come up with a mouse model that develops cancer in a more human-like way, according to their paper in Nature online this week. Conventional cancer mouse models are created by inserting a cancer gene into their genomes. But these mice developed genetic mutations and chromosomal changes that led to the development of certain types of cancers, similar to the way the process happens in humans. This could be used to get a more accurate picture of human cancers in animal models, the researchers say.

In PNAS this week, Subra Suresh from MIT and researchers from the Institut Pasteur and the National University of Singapore reported that they’ve identified the protein produced by the malaria parasite that causes the red blood cells they infect to not be able to squish down and fit through tiny capillaries, a key sign of the disease. They say this finding could open up new drug targets.

And finally, a little controversy. Craig Venter. James Watson. George Church of Harvard Medical School. Famous geneticists who have or will soon have their genomes sequenced. And these projects have raised the ire of some other researchers in the field who say that these are just vanity projects that send the wrong message about human genome sequencing and personalized medicine: that it’s only for the rich and famous. Check out this article in Nature for more.