Birds and bees

Move over people, it’s time to study the birds and the bees. More specifically, the chicken and the honeybee, the next in a select band of organisms to have their genomes mapped. With the genetic codes of humans, mice and rats almost complete, the National Human Genome Research Institute near Washington DC has been mulling over what to go for next. Besides bees and chickens, the shortlist includes the sea urchin, several species of fungi, a protozoan and the chimpanzee—whose genome reputedly differs from ours by just over 1 per cent.