Related topics: mutations

Unusual DNA folding increases the rates of mutations

DNA sequences that can fold into shapes other than the classic double helix tend to have higher mutation rates than other regions in the human genome. New research by a team of Penn State scientists shows that the elevated ...

Bread mould avoids infection by mutating its own DNA

Whilst most organisms try to stop their DNA from mutating, scientists from the UK and China have discovered that a common fungus found on bread actively mutates its own DNA as a way of fighting virus-like infections.

Sequencing the genome of the virus behind COVID-19

Peter Thielen and Tom Mehoke have spent years sequencing the genome of influenza. Now, as a new strain of coronavirus spreads across the globe, these biologists from Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory are transitioning ...

New insights into evolution: Why genes appear to move around

Scientists at Uppsala University have proposed an addition to the theory of evolution that can explain how and why genes move on chromosomes. The hypothesis, called the SNAP Hypothesis, is presented in the scientific journal ...

Disposable parts of plants mutate more quickly

Mutation rates are proposed to be a pragmatic balance struck between the harmful effects of mutations and the costs of suppressing them; this hypothesis predicts that longer-lived body parts and those that contribute to the ...

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