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A research team led by Samantha A. Morris, PhD, an assistant professor of developmental biology at Washington University School of Medicine, was one of 64 teams chosen to compete in STAT Madness, the March Madness of science and medicine. Morris’ team has made the competition’s Final Four.

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.

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a new tool described as a “flight data recorder” for developing cells, illuminating the paths cells take as they progress from one type to another.