Scientists have discovered a new property of the molecular motors that shape our chromosomes. While six years ago they found that these so-called SMC motor proteins make long loops in our DNA, they ...

The DNA packed inside every human cell contains instructions for life, written in billions of letters of genetic code. Every time a cell divides, the complete code, divided among 46 chromosomes, must ...

Every time a cell divides, it must copy its DNA with extraordinary precision. But this process is constantly challenged by ...

A new article analyzes in depth the physical problems associated with DNA packaging that have often been neglected in structural models of chromosomes. The study demonstrates that the multilaminar ...

Top: Chromosome separate with functioning SMC in two models, line drawing and filled-space. The red and pink dots indicate, respectively, ori on each copy of DNA. Bottom: DNA separating without ...

Holly has a degree in Medical Biochemistry from the University of Leicester. Her scientific interests include genomics, personalized medicine, and bioethics.View full profile Holly has a degree in ...

Neanderthals, the closest cousins of modern humans, lived in parts of Europe and Asia until their extinction some 30,000 years ago. Genetic studies are revealing ever more about the links between ...

DNA is the molecular basis of heredity, the inherited traits that pass between generations in a person's family tree. Embodied in the sequence of base pairs, DNA carries information between ...

Scientists have found that twisting structures in DNA long mistaken for knots are actually something else entirely. Inside cells, DNA gets twisted, copied, and pulled apart. The twists can influence ...

Neanderthals, the closest cousins of modern humans, lived in parts of Europe and Asia until their extinction some 30,000 years ago. Genetic studies are revealing ever more about the links between ...