(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 ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 17, 2012
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Scientists have identified a family of proteins that close a critical gap in an enzyme that is essential to all life, allowing the enzyme to maintain its grip on DNA and start the activation of genes.
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 21, 2011
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Simply stretching DNA can silence a gene, scientists at the UA have discovered. The finding could point to a previously unknown gene control mechanism.
Biotechnology
Mar 21, 2011
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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 ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 23, 2011
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In all organisms, RNA synthesis is carried out by proteins - known as RNA polymerases (RNAPs) - that transcribe the genetic information from DNA in a highly-regulated, multi-stage process. RNAP is the key enzyme involved ...
Biotechnology
Jul 15, 2010
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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, ...
Nanophysics
Jul 14, 2010
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The mechanism by which 'polycomb' proteins critical for embyronic stem cell function and fate are targeted to DNA has been identified by UCL scientists.
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 11, 2010
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A research team has made precise measurements of where and how RNA polymerase encounters obstacles while it reads nucleosomal DNA.
Cell & Microbiology
May 14, 2010
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Researchers from NYU Langone Medical Center have discovered and characterized a general mechanism that controls transcription elongation in bacteria. The mechanism, described in the April 23 issue of Science, relies on physical ...
Biotechnology
Apr 22, 2010
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Scientists have shown that cells' DNA-reading machinery can skim through certain kinds of damaged DNA without skipping any letters in the genetic "text." The studies, performed in bacteria, suggest a new mechanism that can ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 9, 2010
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