DNA Archives

Completing DNA synthesis

Oct. 21, 2019—James Dewar and colleagues have identified a role for the enzyme topoisomerase II in reducing replication errors during the final stage of DNA synthesis.

Correctly copying DNA

Mar. 14, 2019—A precise understanding of how the enzyme topoisomerase II cuts DNA could lead to better anti-cancer therapies.

DNA’s on/off switch

Jan. 17, 2019—DNA-binding “switches” represent a fundamentally new method of communication between DNA-processing enzymes, Vanderbilt researchers propose.

Vanderbilt experts discuss potential of universal genetic database to balance privacy, law enforcement concerns

Jan. 3, 2019—The pivotal role that long distance familial genetic searches played in the apprehension of the notorious Golden State Killer — and as a tool in dozens more cases since — has led experts from Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center to make a provocative proposal about how investigative use of DNA should be regulated.

New player in DNA damage repair

Jul. 19, 2018—New findings open opportunities to understand mechanisms of DNA repair for a toxic form of DNA damage.

Study spots undiagnosed genetic diseases in EHR

Mar. 15, 2018—Patients diagnosed with heart failure, stroke, infertility and kidney failure could actually be suffering from rare and undiagnosed genetic diseases.

Novel insights to antibiotic targets

Sep. 29, 2017—New mechanistic details about the DNA-unwinding activity of antibacterial protein targets could lead to the design of better antibiotic medicines.

Team identifies ‘switch’ involved in DNA replication

Feb. 23, 2017—DNA replication is an extraordinarily complex multi-step process that makes copies of the body’s genetic blueprint. It is necessary for growth and essential to life. Now researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Vanderbilt University have found evidence that one of those steps may involve the telephone-like transmission of electrical signals regulated by a chemical “switch.”