Science just published a whole slew of papers, posters, news articles, and the like on the Rhesus Macaque because the macaque genome, the first monkey genome to be sequenced, has been unveiled today.

I haven’t read all of the content in this special issue, but from what I have skimmed so far it’s all focused on the genome, of course, but also mobile DNA, genetic relations between two macaque populations, the roles of macaques in biomedical research etc. Rhesus macaques have been used as a model organism in biology for quite sometime, and this special edition of Science pays homage to this magnificent Old World monkey.

I’ve rounded up the links, if you’d like to click around and read some more about these monkeys:

• A Barrel of Monkey Genes
• Boom Time for Monkey Research
• Evolutionary and Biomedical Insights from the Rhesus Macaque Genome
• Mobile DNA in Old World Monkeys: A Glimpse Through the Rhesus Macaque Genome
• Poster: The Macaque Genome
• Evolutionary Formation of New Centromeres in Macaque
• Demographic Histories and Patterns of Linkage Disequilibrium in Chinese and Indian Rhesus Macaques

If you can’t check out all the content, I understand. I’ll be upset, but I’ll get over it. At the very minimum, you should check out the interactive poster that aids in

“exploration, as well as embedded video featuring seven scientists discussing the importance of the macaque and its genome sequence in studies of biomedicine and evolution. We have also created an accompanying teaching resource, including a lesson plan aimed at teachers of advanced high school life science students, for exploring what a comparison of the macaque and human genomes can tell us about human biology and evolution. These items are free to all site visitors.”

I’ve included a screenshot of to wet your monkey lovin’ appetite: