Understanding genetic mosaicism in human cells

In a study led by Jan Korbel at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and Ashley Sanders at the Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology of the Max Delbrück Center (MDC-BIMSB), researchers have found that approximately one in 40 human bone marrow cells carry massive chromosomal alterations – copy number variations and chromosomal rearrangements, for example – without causing any apparent disease or abnormality.