DNA replication
hideDNA replication, the basis for biological inheritance, is a fundamental process occurring in all living organisms to copy their DNA. This process is "semiconservative" in that each strand of the original double-stranded DNA molecule serves as template for the reproduction of the complementary strand. Hence, following DNA replication, two identical DNA molecules have been produced from a single double-stranded DNA molecule. Cellular proofreading and error-checking mechanisms ensure near perfect fidelity for DNA replication.
In a cell, DNA replication begins at specific locations in the genome, called "origins". Unwinding of DNA at the origin, and synthesis of new strands, forms a replication fork. In addition to DNA polymerase, the enzyme that synthesizes the new DNA by adding nucleotides matched to the template strand, a number of other proteins are associated with the fork and assist in the initiation and continuation of DNA synthesis.
DNA replication can also be performed in vitro (outside a cell). DNA polymerases, isolated from cells, and artificial DNA primers are used to initiate DNA synthesis at known sequences in a template molecule. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a common laboratory technique, employs such artificial synthesis in a cyclic manner to amplify a specific target DNA fragment from a pool of DNA.
For more information about DNA replication, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with dna replication
Scientists Are First To Observe The Global Motions Of An Enzyme Copyinng DNA
Oct 27, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists here have identified how the motions of an enzyme are related to correctly copying genetic instructions, setting the stage for studies that can uncover what happens when DNA copying ...
Messenger RNA with FLASH
Oct 22, 2009 |
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A study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has identified a key player in a molecular process essential for DNA replication within cells.
Discovery of enzyme structure points way to creating less toxic anti-HIV drugs
Oct 15, 2009 |
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By discovering the atomic structure of a key human enzyme, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have pointed the way toward designing anti-HIV drugs with far less toxic side effects.
Scientists use math modeling to predict unknown biological mechanism of regulation
Oct 14, 2009 |
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A team of scientists, led by a biomedical engineer at The University of Texas at Austin, have demonstrated - for the first time - that mathematical models created from data obtained by DNA microarrays, can ...
Researchers identify protein -- telomere interactions that could be key in treating cancer
Aug 31, 2009 |
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A team of researchers from The Wistar Institute have shown that a large non-coding RNA in mammals and yeast plays a central role in helping maintain telomeres, the tips of chromosomes that contain important genetic information ...
'Jumping genes' create antibiotic resistance in bacteria
Aug 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A small piece of foreign DNA recognizes when and where to slip into a bacterium's genetic code, allowing bacteria to genetically adapt to their environment -- and develop resistance to antibiotics, ...
Math model accurately mimics cell division in carbon-cycling bacterium
Aug 14, 2009 |
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Scientists from the Department of Biological Sciences and the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech have developed a quantitative, mathematical model of DNA replication and cell division for the bacterium ...
Scientists uncover function of potential cancer-causing gene product
Aug 09, 2009 |
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The Stowers Institute's Conaway Lab has uncovered a previously unknown function of a gene product called Amplified in Liver Cancer 1 (Alc1), which may play a role in the onset of cancer. The work was published yesterday by ...
Researchers uncover potential mechanisms to protect against genetic alterations, diseases
Aug 06, 2009 |
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Peering into the DNA of tiny yeast, researchers at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego and the San Diego Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research have pinpointed a large number of ...
UCSD Engineer Provides Insights to Decades-Old DNA Squabble
Jul 31, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A group of nanoengineers, biologists and physicists have used innovative approaches to deduce the internal structure of chromatin, a key player in DNA regulation, to reconcile a longstanding ...
A yeast cancer model for mapping cancer genes
Jul 28, 2009 |
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Researchers have devised a scheme for identifying genes in yeast that could lead to the identification of new cancer genes in humans. The study is published online this week in the open-access journal PLoS Bi ...
Researchers unravel mystery of DNA conformation
Jul 13, 2009 |
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An iconic photograph (http://img.timeinc.net/time/80days/images/530228.jpg) of Nobel laureates Drs. Francis Crick and James Watson show the pair discussing with a rigid model of the famous double helix. ...
Handle with care: Telomeres resemble DNA fragile sites
Jul 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Telomeres, the repetitive sequences of DNA at the ends of linear chromosomes, have an important function: They protect vulnerable chromosome ends from molecular attack. Researchers at Rockefeller ...
Of yeast and men: Unraveling the molecular mechanisms of Friedreich's ataxia
Jul 09, 2009 |
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Researchers in human genetics have long known that expansions of GAA repeats - resulting in this nucleotide triplet repeating hundreds or thousands of times - cause the most common hereditary neurological disorder known as ...
Secrets revealed about how disease-causing DNA mutations occur
Jul 02, 2009 |
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A team of Penn State scientists has shed light on the processes that lead to certain human DNA mutations that are implicated in hundreds of inherited diseases such as tuberous sclerosis and neurofibromatosis ...
