Study Challenges Evolutionary Theory That DNA Mutations Are Random; Work Suggests Vital Areas of Genome Are Protected from Mutation

A simple roadside weed may hold the key to understanding and predicting DNA mutation, according to new research from University of California (UC), Davis, and the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Germany, and collaborating institutions. The findings, published January 12 in Nature, radically change our understanding of evolution and could one day help researchers breed better crops or even help humans fight cancer. The open-access article is titled “Mutation Bias Reflects Natural Selection in Arabidopsis thaliana.”