Tag Archives: DNA
DNA cleavage by type II and IA topoisomerases
Brian Schmidt and colleagues presented a “novel and unified two-metal mechanism for DNA cleavage by type II and IA topoisomerases” on Nature 465: 641–644 (03 June 2010). Below is part of the abstract: “Here we present the structure of the … Continue reading
structural and biophysical studies of PARP-1
There was an article on the Journal of Molecular Biology (Issue 5, Volume 395, 5 February 2010, pages 983-994) which presented structural and biophysical information about the human PARP-1 protein. PARP-1, or poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 is an enzyme that monitors DNA … Continue reading
Filed under biophysics, DNA, DNA damage, DNA repair, DNA-binding protein
re-write the textbooks: transcription is bidirectional
Genes that contain instructions for making proteins make up less than 2% of the human genome. Yet, for unknown reasons, most of our genome is transcribed into RNA. The same is true for many other organisms that are easier to … Continue reading
Filed under transcription
oxidatively damaged DNA in the germ line
Alberto Velando and colleagues wrote a paper entitled “Avoiding bad genes: oxidatively damaged DNA in germ line and mate choice.” Below is the abstract: August Weismann proposed that genetic changes in somatic cells cannot pass to germ cells and hence … Continue reading
