New research sheds light on how cells repair damaged DNA. For the first time, the team has mapped the activity of repair proteins in individual human cells. The study demonstrates how these proteins ...

DNA can sustain serious injuries called double strand breaks, in which both strands of the helix snap. These breaks are among the most dangerous forms of DNA damage and immediately trigger the cell's ...

Following a double-strand DNA break, an enzyme called PARP1 helps hold the two strands together —like superglue— and creates a safe zone for other proteins to come repair the damage. We don’t exactly ...

A protein tied to ALS and dementia may have a much bigger role in disease than scientists realized. Researchers found that ...

The human genome consists of 3 billion base pairs, and when a cell divides, it takes about seven hours to complete making a copy of its DNA. That's almost 120,000 base pairs per second. At that ...