Every time a cell divides, it must copy its entire genome so that each daughter cell inherits a complete set of DNA. During that process, enzymes known as polymerases race along the DNA to copy its ...

Determining protein structures requires crystals, but getting proteins to crystallize has long depended on a slow, unpredictable process of trial and error ...

Scientists have long believed that large stretches of our genetic material, known as long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), help ...

Most biochemistry labs that study DNA isolate it within a water-based solution that allows scientists to manipulate DNA without interacting with other molecules. They also tend to use heat to separate ...

A molecular illustration of the crowded interior and cell envelope of Escherichia coli. (David S. Goodsell, The Scripps Research Institute) To replicate information, life usually has fairly ...

Normally, proteins crystallize because parts of their surfaces happen to stick together through multiple weak chemical interactions. By contrast, Mirkin's team exploited DNA's natural tendency to seek ...

DNA repair proteins act like the body's editors, constantly finding and reversing damage to our genetic code. Researchers have long struggled to understand how cancer cells hijack one of these ...

Scientists have captured the most detailed structural images to date of a specific type of protein's DNA repair process, a finding that could reveal ways to inhibit the effects of BRCA1 and BRCA2 ...

Single-stranded DNA-binding proteins (SSBs) are central guardians of genome integrity, selectively coating exposed single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) intermediates that arise during replication, ...

DNA can be damaged by normal cellular processes as well as external factors such as UV radiation and chemicals. Such damage can lead to breaks in the DNA strand. If DNA damage is not properly repaired ...

Scientists have captured the most detailed structural images to date of a specific type of protein's DNA repair process, a finding that could reveal ways to inhibit the effects of BRCA1 and BRCA2 ...