Cells have evolved careful checks to ensure DNA is copied only once, but how they switch on replication at the right moment ...

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 ...

DNA's iconic double helix does more than "just" store genetic information. Under certain conditions, it can temporarily fold into unusual shapes. Researchers at Umeå University, Sweden, have now shown ...

DNA replication is the process by which a cell makes an identical copy of its DNA. This process is performed at the beginning of every cell division so that when the cell divides, each daughter cell ...

DNA replication in differentiated cells follows a defined program, but when and how it is established during mammalian development is not known. Here we show using single-cell sequencing, that late ...

DNA replication initiation requires local melting of fully base-paired DNA for a helicase to gain a foothold and initiate processive DNA unwinding. In eukaryotes and archaea, the helicase engine is ...

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are pluripotent stem cells that can produce all cell types of an organism. ES cells proliferate rapidly and have been thought to experience high levels of intrinsic ...

Like its viral cousins, a somewhat parasitic DNA sequence called a retrotransposon has been found borrowing the cell's own machinery to achieve its goals. In a new work appearing online Wednesday in ...