New work from UC Davis and the University of Utah shows how the 3D structure of DNA inside a germ cell commits it to develop into a sperm cell. The discovery could improve understanding of fertility ...

When DNA breaks, cells must repair it accurately to prevent harmful mutations. Researchers have discovered that during a key repair process called homologous recombination, the cell uses loops in its ...

Getting DNA into a living cell sounds simple, until you remember the cell’s outer membrane acts like a guarded wall. DNA strands carry a negative charge, and they do not cross that wall easily. So for ...

A fleeting DNA fold called i‑DNA can switch cancer‑related genes on and off, revealing a hidden structural weak point that ...

For decades, scientists believed a fertilized egg’s DNA began as a shapeless mass, only organizing itself once the embryo switched on its genes. But new research reveals that the genome is already ...

The human genome has to be carefully organized so it will fit inside of the nuclei of cells, while also remaining accessible to the cellular machinery that works to express the right genes at the ...

How does DNA structure itself from the very first moments of life? A team of researchers has just observed that DNA adopts a defined three-dimensional architecture much more rapidly than ...

How does our DNA store the massive amount of information needed to build a human being? And what happens when it's stored incorrectly? Jesse Dixon, MD, Ph.D., has spent years studying the way this ...

DNA isn't just a long string of genetic code, but an intricate 3D structure folded inside each cell. That means the tools used to study DNA need to be just as sophisticated-able to read not only the ...

For decades, scientists viewed the genome of a newly fertilized egg as a structural "blank slate"—a disordered tangle of DNA waiting for the embryo to wake up and start reading its own genetic ...