Crystal study may resolve DNA mystery

When cells reproduce, the internal mechanisms that copy DNA get it right nearly every time. Rice University bioscientists have uncovered a tiny detail that helps understand how the process could go wrong.

Are egg cells in aging primates protected from mutations?

New mutations occur at increasing rates in the mitochondrial genomes of developing egg cells in aging rhesus monkeys, but the increases appear to plateau at a certain age and are not as large as those seen in non-reproductive ...

CRISPR-Cas9 can generate unexpected, heritable mutations

CRISPR-Cas9, the "genetic scissors," creates new potential for curing diseases, but treatments must be reliable. In a new study, researchers have discovered that the method can give rise to unforeseen changes in DNA that ...

Gene mutation that makes dogs small existed in ancient wolves

Popular belief has been that small dogs, such as Pomeranians and Chihuahuas, exist because once dogs were domesticated, humans wanted small, cute companions. But in the journal Current Biology on January 27, researchers at ...

Developing tools to visualize DNA repair as never before

Each one of the trillions of cells that make up the human body suffers more than 10,000 DNA lesions every day. These injuries would be catastrophic if cells were unable to repair them, but a very delicate machinery that detects ...

Cells' replication of DNA is more 'error-prone' in microgravity

On 22 May 2019, scientists from Queen's University boarded a modified Falcon 20 aircraft at Ottawa airport. Scheduled was a 'vomit comet' flight, where the plane repeatedly climbs to 8km in a steep parabola, alternating with ...

page 6 from 23