Protein scaffold created by researchers
Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - 10:00
in Biology & Nature
Right before a cell starts to divide to give birth to a daughter cell, its biochemical machinery unwinds the chromosomes and copies the millions of protein sequences comprising the cell's DNA, which is packaged along the length of the each chromosomal strand. These copied sequences also need to be put back together before the two cells are pulled apart. Mistakes can lead to genetic defects or cancerous mutations in future cell generations. Researchers have now charted a protein that scaffolds the chromosome along its length to help perpetuate life.