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.
UPDATE: Brenner's Okinawa Institute Seeks to Fill 15 Faculty Positions
Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology says the new faculty members will focus on neuroscience, molecular science, mathematical and computational biology, and environmental science, with the goal of developing interdisciplinary research as OIST transitions into a graduate research university by 2012.
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