‘Jumping genes’ drive many cancers (Links to an external site)

Jumping genes, which scientists call transposable elements, are short sections of the DNA sequence that have been incorporated randomly into the genome over the long course of human evolution. The evolutionary histories of jumping genes are the subject of much current research, but viral infection is thought to play an important role in their origins.

Researchers led by Ting Wang the Sanford C. and Karen P. Loewentheil Distinguished Professor of Medicine, have plumbed genomic databases, looking specifically for tumors whose jumping genes are driving cancer growth.

The gene-environment enigma (Links to an external site)

Personalized medicine centers on being able to predict the risk of disease or response to a drug based on a person’s genetic makeup. But a study by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that, for most common diseases, genes alone only tell part of the story.