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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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

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 ...

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 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 ...

So, if we modify proteins with DNA and assemble them, we can form high-quality, atomically precise crystals, overcoming a decades-old challenge in the field of DNA-programmable assembly." Discover the ...