DNA repair refers to a collection of processes by which a cell identifies and corrects damage to the DNA molecules that encode its genome.

In human cells, both normal metabolic activities and environmental factors such as UV light can cause DNA damage, resulting in as many as 1 million individual molecular lesions per cell per day.

Many of these lesions cause structural damage to the DNA molecule and can alter or eliminate the cell's ability to transcribe the gene that the affected DNA encodes.

Other lesions induce potentially harmful mutations in the cell's genome, which affect the survival of its daughter cells after it undergoes mitosis.

Consequently, the DNA repair process must be constantly active so it can respond rapidly to any damage in the DNA structure.

For more information about the topic DNA repair, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:

Vector (biology) — Traditionally in medicine, a vector is an organism that does not cause disease itself but which spreads infection by conveying pathogens from one ...  > read more

Tumor suppressor gene — A tumor suppressor gene is a gene that reduces the probability that a cell in a multicellular organism will turn into a tumor cell. A mutation or ...  > read more

Chromosomal crossover — Homologous recombination is the process by which two chromosomes, paired up during prophase 1 of meiosis, exchange some distal portion of their DNA. ...  > read more

BRCA2 — BRCA2 is a human gene that is involved in the repair of chromosomal damage and belongs to a class of genes known as tumor suppressor genes. Tumor ...  > read more

Editor's Note: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Recommend this page on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:

Other bookmarking and sharing tools:

Related Stories

Real-Time Observation Of DNA-Repair Mechanism (May 25, 2008) — For the first time, researchers have witnessed the spontaneous repair of damage to DNA molecules in real time. They observed this at the level of a single DNA molecule. Insight into this type of ...  > read more

DNA Research Highlights Prostate Cancer Mechanisms (April 12, 2004) — Certain prostate cancer cell lines are unable to repair DNA damage caused by "free radicals," according to scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and National ...  > read more

Protein Found That Improves DNA Repair Under Stress (June 17, 2011) — Scientists have discovered an important new mechanism that allows cells to recognize when they are under stress and prime the DNA repair machinery to respond to the threat of ...  > read more

Ku70 Shown to Be Critical Regulator of DNA Damage in Huntington's Disease (May 3, 2010) — Ku70, a component of the DNA repair complex, is shown to be a new critical player in the DNA damage-linked pathologies of Huntington's disease, according to a new ...  > read more

Researchers Succeed In Observing For First Time How DNA Damage Is Identified (May 22, 2006) — For the first time anywhere, researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have succeeded in observing and describing how damaged DNA is naturally ...  > read more

Search ScienceDaily

Baking Out DNA