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.
Susan Hockfield to Step Down
Susan Hockfield, the first female president of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will be leaving her post once a successor has been found, reports Bloomberg. Hockfield has led the school since December 2004, and nearly $3 billion has been raised for the school under her leadership. Previously, Hockfield was a provost at Yale, and before that she worked as a biologist at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York. "The momentum of all that we have accomplished has tempted me to stay on to see our many efforts bear their full fruit. But to support our ambitious goals for the future, MIT has begun the crucial work of planning for a significant new fundraising campaign," Hockfield says in a statement. "I have concluded that it would be best for the Institute to begin this next chapter with new leadership."