When inflexibility is counterproductive: Mechanism of UV-induced DNA Dewar lesion revealed
Monday, November 28, 2011 - 14:00
in Biology & Nature
Excessive exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation of sunlight can result in skin damage and may even induce skin cancers. Irradiation with UV light causes mutations in the DNA, which can interfere with or even inhibit the read-out of genetic information and hence affect the cell function. The Dewar lesion is one of the major UV-induced reaction products, which can itself generate mutations. Understanding the mechanism that leads to the formation of the Dewar lesion is therefore of great interest.