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Children with Down’s syndrome have a 150-fold increased risk of developing leukaemia than those without the condition. Now, an in-depth investigation has revealed that changes to genome structures in fetal liver stem-cells appear to be playing a key role in this increase.

Down’s syndrome is characterised by cells having an extra copy of chromosome 21. The team behind this work saw that in liver stem-cells — one of the main places blood is produced in a growing fetus — this extra copy results in changes in how DNA is packaged in a nucleus, opening up areas that are prone to mutation, including those known to be important in leukaemia development.

The researchers hope their work will be an important step in understanding and reducing this risk in children with Down’s syndrome.

Research Article: Marderstein et al.

News and Views: Childhood leukaemia in Down’s syndrome primed by blood-cell bias

How taking pints of beer off the table lowers alcohol consumption, and a small lizard’s ‘scuba gear’ helps it stay submerged.

Research Highlight: A small fix to cut beer intake: downsize the pint

Research Highlight: This ‘scuba diving’ lizard has a self-made air supply

How tiny crustaceans use ‘smell’ to find their home cave, and how atomic bomb X-rays could deflect an asteroid away from a deadly Earth impact.

Science: In the dark ocean, these tiny creatures can smell their way home

Nature: Scientists successfully ‘nuke asteroid’ — in a lab mock-up

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