While most known types of DNA damage are fixed by our cells’ in-house DNA repair mechanisms, some forms of DNA damage evade repair and can persist for many years, new research shows. This means that ...

A team of researchers at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center has identified a new pathway through which mutations in the tumor suppressor p53 gene—found very frequently in human tumors—hijack DNA ...

We tend to think of the DNA strands that contain our genetic code as consistent, stable units. But in reality, the cells that make up our bodies are constantly replicating and changing. Even as you ...

Despite progress in defining functional elements of noncoding DNA, it is still not fully understood. Researchers, using an experiment that elucidated the function of tens of thousands of noncoding ...

The accumulation of mutations in DNA is often mentioned as an explanation for the aging process, but it remains just one hypothesis among many. A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), in ...

Only around two percent of the human genome codes for proteins, and while those proteins carry out many important functions of the cell, the rest of the genome cannot be ignored. However, for decades ...

Mitochondria are well known as the powerhouses of the cell because of their energy generating capabilities. These little organelles are very special, because they also carry their own tiny little ...

Mutations are changes in the molecular "letters" that make up the DNA code, the blueprint for all living cells. Some of these changes can have little effect, but others can lead to diseases, including ...

Scientists have created a mega-database revealing how half a million different DNA mutations generate errors in proteins in humans. The researchers hope that the database will be used to develop new, ...

The microbial toxin colibactin has just the right shape to snuggle up to DNA — but its embrace is unfortunately more cancerous than cozy. Colibactin is produced by bacteria in the gut and causes ...