How does the cell convert DNA into working proteins? The process of translation can be seen as the decoding of instructions for making proteins, involving mRNA in transcription as well as tRNA. But ...

Every time a cell divides, it must copy its entire genome so that each daughter cell inherits a complete set of DNA. During that process, enzymes known as polymerases race along the DNA to copy its ...

When AlphaFold solved the protein-folding problem in 2020, it showed that artificial intelligence could crack one of biology’s deepest mysteries: how a string of amino acids folds itself into a ...

Determining protein structures requires crystals, but getting proteins to crystallize has long depended on a slow, unpredictable process of trial and error ...

Most biochemistry labs that study DNA isolate it within a water-based solution that allows scientists to manipulate DNA without interacting with other molecules. They also tend to use heat to separate ...

Normally, proteins crystallize because parts of their surfaces happen to stick together through multiple weak chemical interactions. By contrast, Mirkin's team exploited DNA's natural tendency to seek ...

DNA can be damaged by normal cellular processes as well as external factors such as UV radiation and chemicals. Such damage can lead to breaks in the DNA strand. If DNA damage is not properly repaired ...

DNA repair proteins act like the body's editors, constantly finding and reversing damage to our genetic code. Researchers have long struggled to understand how cancer cells hijack one of these ...

Data from a new study in mice connects unrepaired DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs), highly toxic tangles of protein and DNA, to inflammation-linked premature aging and embryonic lethality in mice. The ...