Most biochemistry labs that study DNA isolate it within a water-based solution that allows scientists to manipulate DNA without interacting with other molecules. They also tend to use heat to separate ...

Every time a cell divides, it must copy its entire genome so that each daughter cell inherits a complete set of DNA. During that process, enzymes known as polymerases race along the DNA to copy its ...

DNA can be damaged by normal cellular processes as well as external factors such as UV radiation and chemicals. Such damage can lead to breaks in the DNA strand. If DNA damage is not properly repaired ...

Programmable single-stranded DNA was used as a modular, flexible “glue” to direct proteins into diffraction-quality crystals with atomic-level order. DNA sequence, length, and attachment position ...

Determining protein structures requires crystals, but getting proteins to crystallize has long depended on a slow, unpredictable process of trial and error ...

DNA repair proteins act like the body's editors, constantly finding and reversing damage to our genetic code. Researchers have long struggled to understand how cancer cells hijack one of these ...

Normally, proteins crystallize because parts of their surfaces happen to stick together through multiple weak chemical interactions. By contrast, Mirkin's team exploited DNA's natural tendency to seek ...