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As reported by sciencedaily.com on November 1, Cinnamon, an adorable little brown Abyssinian was chosen to represent all domestic cats.  Cinnamon contributed a vial of her blood to help scientists sequence the house cat genome. 

From the genome, scientists have determined that domestic cats first diverged from a wild ancestor 100 million years ago.  The sequencing will also allow veterinarians and scientists to study the over 250 hereditary diseases from which cats can suffer.  Studies may be able to come up with cures and treatments for these.

Scientists are, of course, also interested in the cat genome in order to help with human health.  Cats make excellent models for human disease and the new knowledge may help lead to cures for both us and our cats.

Cinnamon, the now famous cat, lives in a cat colony at the University of Missourri.  According to her medical student caretakers, Cinnamon is shy and modest, but a pleasure to take care of.