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News tagged with dna damage

Study suggests why some animals live longer

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the University of Liverpool have developed a new method to detect proteins associated with longevity, which helps further our understanding into why some animals live longer ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Mar 29, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (4) | comments 0

Are silver nanoparticles harmful?

Silver nanoparticles cause more damage to testicular cells than titanium dioxide nanoparticles, according to a recent study by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. However, the use of both types may affect testicular ...

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Mar 14, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Squeezing polymers produces chemical energy but raises doubts about implant safety

A polymer is a mesh of chains, which slowly break over time due to the pressure from ordinary wear and tear. When a polymer is squeezed, the pressure breaks chemical bonds and produces free radicals: ions with unpaired electrons, ...

Chemistry / Polymers

created Mar 02, 2012 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Researchers provide atomic view of a histone chaperone

Mayo Clinic researchers have gained insights into the function of a member of a family of specialized proteins called histone chaperones. Using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography, they ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Mar 01, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Mapping of protein inhibitors facilitates development of tailor-made anticancer agents

(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has generated a map over the effects of small drug-like molecules on PARP1 and other similar proteins in the body. This map may explain the mechanism ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Feb 20, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

DNA damage across a cellular barrier depends on barrier thickness

(PhysOrg.com) -- The use of nanoparticles in medicine is ever increasing and it is important to understand the effects these particles might have on human tissues and health in general.

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Dec 13, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

When inflexibility is counterproductive: Mechanism of UV-induced DNA Dewar lesion revealed

Excessive exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation of sunlight can result in skin damage and may even induce skin cancers. Irradiation with UV light causes mutations in the DNA, which can interfere with or even inhibit the ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Nov 28, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Study identifies a key molecular switch for telomere extension by telomerase

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine describe for the first time a key target of DNA damage checkpoint enzymes that must be chemically modified to enable stable maintenance of chromosome ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Nov 23, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Kudzu-eating beetle: Good news or bad?

Kudzu, a green leafy vine native to China and Japan brought to the United States in the 19th century, has long been cursed by farmers and timber producers for the property and crop damage it can cause.

Biology / Ecology

created Sep 27, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Biochemists identify new genetic code repair tool

Clemson University researchers recently reported finding a new class of DNA repair-makers.

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Sep 27, 2011 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Genetic evidence clears Ben Franklin (w/ Video)

The DNA evidence is in, and Ben Franklin didn't do it. Genetic tests on more than 1,000 Chinese tallow trees from the United States and China show the famed U.S. statesman did not import the tallow trees ...

Biology / Ecology

created Jul 29, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Scientists identify protein that improves DNA repair under stress

Cells in the human body are constantly being exposed to stress from environmental chemicals or errors in routine cellular processes. While stress can cause damage, it can also provide the stimulus for undoing the damage. ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jun 16, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 10 | with audio podcast

Researchers find link between DNA damage and immune response

Researchers offer the first evidence that DNA damage can lead to the regulation of inflammatory responses, the body's reaction to injury. The proteins involved in the regulation help protect the body from infection.

Medicine & Health / Genetics

created Mar 31, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Gene is linked to colon cancer when folate's low

(PhysOrg.com) -- Cornell researchers report that they have identified a gene that increases the risk for colon cancer in laboratory mice when their diets lack folate.

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Mar 29, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

New research finds protein that protects cancer cells from chemo and radiation therapy

Research led by Daitoku Sakamuro, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pathology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans and the LSUHSC Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center, has identified a protein that enables the activation of a DNA-repair ...

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Mar 24, 2011 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

DNA repair

DNA repair refers to a collection of processes by which a cell identifies and corrects damage to the DNA molecules that encode its genome. In human cells, both normal metabolic activities and environmental factors such as UV light and Radiation can cause DNA damage, resulting in as many as 1 million individual molecular lesions per cell per day. Many of these lesions cause structural damage to the DNA molecule and can alter or eliminate the cell's ability to transcribe the gene that the affected DNA encodes. Other lesions induce potentially harmful mutations in the cell's genome, which affect the survival of its daughter cells after it undergoes mitosis. Consequently, the DNA repair process is constantly active as it responds to damage in the DNA structure.

The rate of DNA repair is dependent on many factors, including the cell type, the age of the cell, and the extracellular environment. A cell that has accumulated a large amount of DNA damage, or one that no longer effectively repairs damage incurred to its DNA, can enter one of three possible states:

The DNA repair ability of a cell is vital to the integrity of its genome and thus to its normal functioning and that of the organism. Many genes that were initially shown to influence lifespan have turned out to be involved in DNA damage repair and protection. Failure to correct molecular lesions in cells that form gametes can introduce mutations into the genomes of the offspring and thus influence the rate of evolution.

For more information about DNA repair, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.