New insight into proteins called "pioneer factors" helps to explain their unusual ability to open up the typically dense genetic material within our cells. This behavior makes the genetic material accessible for proteins ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 20, 2023
0
20
UV light damages the DNA of skin cells, which can lead to skin cancer. But this process is counteracted by DNA repair machinery, acting as a molecular sunscreen. It has been unclear, however, how repair proteins work on DNA ...
Molecular & Computational biology
May 30, 2019
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82
New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Cell & Bioscience is the first to show that left-handed Z-DNA, normally only found at sites where DNA is being copied, can also form on nucleosomes.
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 20, 2012
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0
Human life hinges on the ability of our cells to cram six feet of DNA into a 10-micron nucleus—equivalent to fitting a mile of string inside one green pea. But stuffing genes into cramped quarters is only half the battle. ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Sep 30, 2021
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811
In the cell nucleus, the genomic DNA is packaged into a tightly condensed form, which is referred to as chromatin. The basic unit of chromatin organization is the nucleosome, a DNA-protein complex consisting of a defined ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 4, 2018
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11
The way DNA folds largely determines which genes are read out. John van Noort and his group have quantified how easily rolled-up DNA parts stack. This costs less energy than previously assumed. Publication in Biophysical ...
Biochemistry
Nov 12, 2018
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23
The DNA genomes of organisms whose cells possess nuclei are packaged in a highly characteristic fashion. Most of the DNA is tightly wrapped around protein particles called nucleosomes, which are connected to each other by ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 20, 2010
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0
The mode of packaging of the genomic DNA in the cell nucleus determines patterns of gene expression. Munich researchers have used DNA-based nano-tweezers to measure the forces between nucleosomes, the basic packing units ...
Bio & Medicine
Feb 27, 2017
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5
DNA is tightly packed into the nucleus of a cell. Nevertheless, the cellular machinery needs to constantly access the genomic information. An LMU team now reveals the inner workings of a molecular motor made of proteins which ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 12, 2018
6
69
(Phys.org)—A team of researchers with Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and the Broad Institute has developed a procedure to decode histone modifications that point out gene regulation. In their paper ...
