Connection Between Epigenome, Selective Mutability, Evolution, and Human Disease
Li, Harris et al., PLoS Genetics
Researchers at the Baylor College of Medicine and elsewhere propose a "connection between the epigenome, selective mutability, evolution, and human disease" based on the findings of their study on associations of structural mutability with germline DNA methylation and with non-allelic homologous recombination mediated by low-copy repeats. "Combined evidence from four human sperm methylome maps, human genome evolution, structural polymorphisms in the human population, and previous genomic and disease studies consistently points to a strong association of germline hypomethylation and genomic instability," the Baylor-led team writes.
Get Your Grant in Tip-Top Shape
University College London's Thomas Mrsic-Flogel spent a year preparing for his $2.7 million Wellcome Trust fellowship application, and this week shares with Nature his tips for grant success.
Mrsic-Flogel "sought input from dozens of people, from UCL grant advisers to colleagues in neuroscience and other fields, in effect creating an informal peer-review panel," Nature's Karen Kaplan writes. "He revised the document several times, once deleting an entire section, and when something stumped him, Mrsic-Flogel called grant recipients he knew to find out how they had dealt with similar problems."
Much like Mrsic-Flogel did, Kaplan says it's best to "get editing and streamlining recommendations from as many senior colleagues as possible, both in and outside the research field." Clarity, she adds, is also important. Overall, Kaplan says "applicants need to communicate the pay-offs of the research straight away."