WashU biologists, led by Xuehua Zhong in Arts & Sciences, investigated the inner workings of DNA methylation in plants. Their findings could help engineer crops that are more resilient to environmental changes, like heat or drought stress.

Pregnant women with obesity face an increased risk of complications, including the need for a cesarean section, which carries its own set of risks. A University of Oklahoma physician-researcher recently earned a $3.1 million National Institutes of Health grant to lead a multicenter national clinical trial studying whether antibiotics given at the beginning of labor induction result in a decrease in C-sections. The trial is thought to be the first large-scale study of its kind in the United States.

A new method, developed by Penn State researchers, can test the activity of thousands of RNA enzymes, called ribozymes, in a single experiment.

Along with defending against pathogens, the body’s innate immune system helps to protect the stability of our genomes in unexpected ways — ways that have important implications for the development of cancer, researchers at MSK are discovering.