Everyday of our lives our bodies
need to make repairs so that we can continue to function properly. This is accomplished by the DNA replication
of cells. It’s not secret that mistakes
can happen while DNA is being copied.
These mistakes can lead to mutations that will have a serious negative
impact of a person’s life. Our genes are
housed in the DNA located in the nucleus of cells. This information is crucial to our survival
since it is the blueprint for how our body works. The structure of DNA molecules is usually
very stable, but when they are being copied during replication they become more
prone to injury.
Currently Juan Mendez and other
researchers at the Spanish National Cancer Research Center have made strides in
discovering how a before unknown human enzyme would be able to identify lesions
on the DNA strand and play a role in the repair of the DNA during
replication. The protein known as
PrimPol would allow the body to know when it has made a DNA copying mistake and
to fix it, which would prevent mutations and even death in some cases. The enzyme being researched showed that it
prevented the copying of DNA from being interrupted in the spots where there is
problem with the DNA sequence. The
problematic areas are recognized by PrimPol and passed over until they can be
repaired when the DNA is finished being copied.
This enzyme shows much promise in the prevention of copying damaged DNA,
which will have a great impact on future generations of humans.
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