‘Recombination Hotspots’ Illuminated

Dr. Molly Przeworski

Photo: Ernie Branson

Dr. Molly Przeworski, a professor of systems biology at Columbia University, spoke Nov. 17 in Lipsett Amphitheater on more than a decade of work on how genetic recombination—the merging of parental contributions—functions and how it completes the slow, steady work of evolution. Focusing on mice, men and birds, her talk illuminated the discovery of “recombination hotspots” in the genomes of various species.

“Everyone in this room is related, if you go back far enough in time,” she said.