More DNA Repair Research
As a follow-on to DNA repair research from last week - a good example of the power of modern bioinformatics - ScienceDaily reports on work from another team: "For the first time anywhere, [scientists] have succeeded in observing and describing how damaged DNA is naturally identified. ... Proteins triggered by the bacteria that are similar to the protein that has been revealed in our laboratory are found in all species, including humans, and therefore one can conclude that the way in which the bacterial protein scans the DNA for lesions is similar among many forms of life. This understanding of the molecular basis of the DNA repair is a basic step in furthering our ability to understand those illnesses stemming from DNA damage, for example cancerous growths." Accumulated damage to DNA is one root cause of age-related degeneration - so the more we know about DNA repair, the better.
Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060519235555.htm