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.
Southwest Wisconsin Technical College Launching Clinical Lab Tech Program
Southwest Wisconsin Technical College has created a new academic program designed to train students to become clinical lab techs, according to the school.
The Clinical Laboratory Technician program, planned to start during the fall 2010 semester, is an associate degree program that will "prepare students to work as medical laboratory technicians or clinical laboratory technicians in hospitals, clinics, and doctors' offices," the school said.
According to Southwest Tech, "[c]ourses and clinical experiences prepare students to perform procedures such as the collection and analysis of blood and other bodily fluids in areas of hematology, chemistry, immunology, blood bank, and microbiology."
Graduates of the CLT program "typically perform these analytical procedures under the supervision of a medical technologist or physician. According to information found on the website careerinfonet.com, the mean starting salary for people entering the CLT field in Wisconsin has been $18.31 per hour."
The college, located in Fennimore, Wis., around 80 miles west of Madison, said it "is currently engaged in a hiring search for qualified instructors to teach in the CLT program." Applications are being accepted for the CLT program until April 15. "Interested applicants can visit www.swtc.edu to find out more information on employment opportunities at Southwest Tech.
The new curriculum coincides with the construction of a new Southwest Tech Health Science Center. The three-story building is "scheduled to be available for students and staff use beginning this fall," the school said.