Enzymes that cut DNA at specific sites are called endonucleases; these enzymes play many roles in genomic replication, fidelity, and defense. The initial discovery of restriction endonucleases in the ...

To many working biologists, DNA-modifying enzymes are tools, not unlike a pair of molecule-sized scissors. To Dr. Barry Stoddard, a professor in the Basic Sciences division at Fred Hutch, these ...

An important DNA modification is methylation, or the addition of a methyl group to the 5th carbon of cytosine. This forms 5-methylcytosine (5mC), typically associated with repression of gene ...

CRISPR—Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats—is the microbial world’s answer to adaptive immunity. Bacteria don’t generate antibodies when they are invaded by a pathogen and then ...

Researchers have discovered that a DNA modification called 5-formylcytosine (5fC) functions as an activating epigenetic switch that kick-starts genes in early embryonic development. This finding ...

Genome editing is a powerful biotechnology tool that allows scientists to make precise changes to an organism's DNA. It involves the use of specialized enzymes, known as engineered nucleases or ...

A new family of enzymes enables precise cuts in single-stranded DNA, offering powerful new tools for genetic engineering and expanding possibilities in biotechnology. (Nanowerk News) A few years ago, ...

There are many health problems that can be traced back to errors in the genetic code. There are also many potential benefits to genetic engineering outside of healthcare. Nature has already found ways ...

Tarun Kapoor is tackling a deceptively tricky biochemical challenge: how to speed up the internal machinery of living cells.

Could it be that one of only three known markers directly targeting the DNA does not exist outside the realm of microbes? Now, researchers have demonstrated that this marker -- N4-methylcytosine (4mC) ...