Autonomous nanomachines inspired by nature

Inspired by the way molecules interact in nature, UNSW medical researchers engineer versatile nanoscale machines to enable greater functional range.

Cryo-EM reveals how '911' molecule helps fix damaged DNA

When something goes wrong during DNA replication, cells call their own version of 911 to pause the process and fix the problem—a failsafe that is critical to maintaining health and staving off disease.

The first stages of DNA evolution

One fundamental question in the field of the Origin of Life is how the first molecules of DNA replicated and evolved on the primordial Earth, more than 4 billion years ago. Before the emergence of the first cells or any other ...

Researchers uncover genetic 'bridge' to leukemia progression

For cells to thrive, a complex network of three-dimensional structures assembles to read, copy and produce the genetic materials (DNA) needed for cellular function. Understanding how these structures form, and what happens ...

DNA design brings predictability to polymer gels

Scientists in Japan have made a tuneable, elastic and temperature-sensitive gel by using complementary DNA strands to connect star-shaped polymer molecules together. The gel, and the method used to develop it, could lead ...

Uncovering the mysteries of methylation in plants

Growing up is a complex process for multi-celled organisms—plants included. In the days or weeks it takes to go from a seed to a sprout to a full plant, plants express hundreds of genes in different places at different ...

Superselective colloid-surface binding visualized

Rather than one key and one strong lock, biology often uses tens or hundreds of weaker links to bind parts together, such as cell membranes. This allows for selectivity and also reversibility—the binding can also be undone. ...

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