In a study published in eLife, Biological Systems and Engineering (BSE) postdoctoral researcher Grace Lee and senior scientist Gary Karpen investigated the extent to which transposons—bits of DNA that copy themselves and jump to other locations in the genome—harm organisms through epigenetic means, such as changing the way DNA is packaged in cells, and whether this influences how transposons evolve. In a Q&A with the journal, Lee explained the background of the research, the specific question she and Karpen were interested in, and the most illuminating result among their findings.