New details about gene regulation explained

(Phys.org) -- When genetic information is read from the genetic blueprint DNA, RNA polymerase II translates it into RNA molecules. The C-terminal domain, abbreviated as CTD, is an important area of the polymerase molecule. ...

Study uncovers how DNA unfolds for transcription

(PhysOrg.com) -- The human genome contains some 3 billion base pairs that are tightly compacted into the nucleus of each cell. If a DNA strand were the thickness of a human hair, the entire human genome would be crammed into ...

Transcriptional elongation control takes on new dimensions

Life is complicated enough, so you can forgive the pioneers of DNA biology for glossing over transcriptional elongation control by RNA polymerase II, the quick and seemingly bulletproof penultimate step in the process that ...

Ready, go!

Just like orchestra musicians waiting for their cue, RNA polymerase II molecules are poised at the start site of many developmentally controlled genes, waiting for the "Go!"- signal to read their part of the genomic symphony. ...

Stop and go: How the cell deals with transcriptional roadblocks

Gene transcription is central to cell function, as it converts the information stored in the DNA into RNA molecules of defined sequence, which then program protein synthesis. The enzyme RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is responsible ...

Correcting a trick of the light brings molecules into view

Conventional wisdom holds that optical microscopy can't be used to "see" something as small as an individual molecule. But as it is wont, clever science has once again overturned conventional wisdom. Secretary of Energy, ...

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