Related topics: cancer , cells , stem cells , protein , cancer cells
DNA repair
hideDNA repair refers to a collection of processes by which a cell identifies and corrects damage to the DNA molecules that encode its genome. In human cells, both normal metabolic activities and environmental factors such as UV light and Radiation can cause DNA damage, resulting in as many as 1 million individual molecular lesions per cell per day. Many of these lesions cause structural damage to the DNA molecule and can alter or eliminate the cell's ability to transcribe the gene that the affected DNA encodes. Other lesions induce potentially harmful mutations in the cell's genome, which affect the survival of its daughter cells after it undergoes mitosis. Consequently, the DNA repair process is constantly active as it responds to damage in the DNA structure.
The rate of DNA repair is dependent on many factors, including the cell type, the age of the cell, and the extracellular environment. A cell that has accumulated a large amount of DNA damage, or one that no longer effectively repairs damage incurred to its DNA, can enter one of three possible states:
The DNA repair ability of a cell is vital to the integrity of its genome and thus to its normal functioning and that of the organism. Many genes that were initially shown to influence lifespan have turned out to be involved in DNA damage repair and protection. Failure to correct molecular lesions in cells that form gametes can introduce mutations into the genomes of the offspring and thus influence the rate of evolution.
For more information about DNA repair, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with dna damage
Critical protein helps mend damaged DNA
Dec 24, 2009 |
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In order to preserve our DNA, cells have developed an intricate system for monitoring and repairing DNA damage. Yet precisely how the initial damage signal is converted into a repair response remains unclear. Researchers ...
Why cancer cells just won't die (w/ Video)
Dec 09, 2009 |
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When cells experience DNA damage, they'll try to repair it. But if that fails, the damaged cells are supposed to self-destruct, a process called apoptosis. A cancer researcher at Robarts Research Institute at The University ...
Small addition to cancer drug may make big difference
Dec 08, 2009 |
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University of Florida researchers have found a way to use just a fraction of the normal dosage of a highly toxic, debilitating chemotherapy drug to achieve even better results against colon cancer cells.
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Kangaroos may hold skin cancer cure: study
Nov 30, 2009 |
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Kangaroos may provide the key to a potential treatment to prevent skin cancer, Australian scientists said Monday.
Scientists crack gene code of common cancers
Dec 17, 2009 |
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Two common forms of cancer have been genetically mapped for the first time, British scientists announced, in a major breakthrough in understanding the diseases.
Broken genomes behind breast cancers
Dec 23, 2009 |
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The first detailed search of breast cancer genomes to uncover genomic rearrangements is published today. The team characterised the ways in which the human genome is broken and put back together in 24 cases of breast cancer.
New molecule identified in DNA damage response
Dec 08, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Evolution places the highest premium on reproduction, natural selection’s only standard for biological success. In the case of replicating cells, life spares no expense to ensure that the ...
Drug kills cells through novel mechanism
Dec 10, 2009 |
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MIT and Boston University researchers have discovered that the drug hydroxyurea kills bacteria by inducing them to produce molecules toxic to themselves — a conclusion that raises the possibility of finding ...
TGen analysis identifies biomarkers for diabetic kidney failure
Dec 16, 2009 |
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Researchers using a DNA analysis tool developed by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and UCLA have identified genetic markers that could help treat chronic kidney disease among diabetics.
Lung cancer and melanoma laid bare: First comprehensive analysis of two cancer genomes
Dec 16, 2009 |
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Research teams led by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute announce the first comprehensive analyses of cancer genomes. All cancers are caused by mutations in the DNA of cancer cells which are acquired during a person's lifetime. ...
Tracing the traces: Nanogram concentrations of a toxic compound detected in chlorinated tap water
Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry
Dec 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Drinking water can transmit a number of diseases, including typhoid, dysentery, cholera, and diarrhea, which can then spread explosively throughout an entire service area. To avoid this problem, drinking ...
Asian carp raises fear and loathing on Great Lakes
Dec 10, 2009 |
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(AP) -- After nearly four decades as a fishing guide on the Great Lakes, Pat Chrysler has seen enough damage from invasive species to fear what giant, ravenous Asian carp could do to the nation's largest bodies of freshwater.
Scientists show how ubiquitin chains are added to cell-cycle proteins
Dec 02, 2009 |
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Researchers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have been able to view in detail, and for the first time, the previously mysterious process by which long chains of a protein called ubiquitin ...
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