A record player-like microscope and computer simulations solve a longtime mystery, showing that metal ions bridge DNA strands that would normally repel.

At the scale of individual cells, the human body is constantly in motion. Every second, millions of cells divide, particularly in tissues such as the bone marrow, intestine and skin; neurons and heart ...

To replicate information, life usually has fairly straightforward ways of doing things. To copy DNA, you generally use DNA as a template. To make RNA, cells generally use DNA as a template, while RNA ...

In a new Science study, scientists read the family tree buried inside modern genomes and turned up “ghost ancestors” in every population on Earth that no fossil records can account for. But did our ...

Every time a cell divides, it must copy its DNA with extraordinary precision. But this process is constantly challenged by DNA damage. Among the most dangerous lesions are DNA interstrand crosslinks ...

In 1869, Swiss scientist Friedrich Miescher isolated a mysterious substance from cell nuclei—an overlooked finding that would later reshape biology and our understanding of life itself. A ...

When cells proliferate, genomic DNA is precisely duplicated once per cell cycle. Abnormalities in this DNA replication process can cause alterations in genomic DNA, promoting cellular ageing, cancer, ...

Human history is rife with contentions about the purity (and superiority) of the bloodlines of one group over another and claims over ancestral homelands. More than a decade of work on ancient human ...

Back in high school chemistry, I remember waiting with my bench partner for crystals to form on our stick in the cup of blue solution. Other groups around us jumped with joy when their crystals formed ...

Leading Manchester United’s academy is no ordinary backroom role. The club’s heritage of developing young talent is unparalleled in English football, so whoever is tasked with running it has ...

Accurate genome duplication is essential for all living cells. In Escherichia coli and most other bacteria, a circular chromosome is replicated bidirectionally at high speed. Two replisomes, assembled ...

The discovery of DNA ligase by the Gellert, Lehman, Richardson, and Hurwitz teams in 1967 was a breakthrough in molecular biology. These essential enzymes maintain genome integrity and play a vital ...