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DNA is powerful but delicate. At only 2 nanometers in diameter (a nanometer is the equivalent of one millionth of a millimeter), it is a fine thread that can snap during the process of cell replication. Each of our cells is equipped with DNA repair machinery, which, when it is working properly, detects and immediately repairs any breaks. But if something goes wrong during this process, the consequences can be disastrous. Under rare circumstances, the repair machinery can accidentally reattach a broken-off piece of DNA to the wrong chromosome. The result is a chromosomal translocation.

This week’s of the journal Nature celebrates a milestone in the history of biomedical research: the publication of the first draft of the human genome sequence. Ten years ago this week, two papers, in Nature and in Science, together offered the first glimpse of the genetic instructions written within our DNA.

Two years ago, researchers in Germany discovered a new and potentially very powerful biological tool that bacteria have been wielding as a weapon against their plant hosts. By secreting special proteins known as TAL (transcription activator-like) effectors, species of Xanthomonas bacteria can manipulate the genome of the plants that they infect, activating plant genes that allow the bacteria to flourish. In 2009, researchers broke the protein’s code, revealing how TAL effectors bind to host genomes.

As data from the Human Genome Project accumulated, scientists realized that there was a significant amount of variation in the human genome, especially in the form of single-letter changes known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The study of SNPs in the human genome and their influence on disease has been a major focus of genome research over the past decade and has revealed hundreds of SNPs associated with common diseases.

Researchers at the , a part of the Ó³»­´«Ã½, are taking on two common but complex psychiatric diseases – bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Among the Stanley Center investigators is Jon Madison, a group leader within the Center whose work involves digging into the genetic contributions to both disorders.