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Reading Between the Pages

Researchers at Trinity College Dublin and the University of York excavate the genetic secrets contained in the DNA of old parchments.

Molly Sharlach

Feb 28, 2015

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More Articles in genetics

To flag neurons that have experienced genotoxic stress, researchers developed an in vivo sensor using an adeno-associated viral vector, called PRISM. Because a cell’s DNA damage response (DDR)—which activates in response to stressors such as environmental toxins or the buildup of misfolded proteins—also responds to invading pathogens, PRISM has an easier time transfecting cells whose damage response mechanisms are preoccupied with existing DNA damage. Once inside, the virus hijacks the neuron’s DNA replication machinery, which reverts an engineered frameshift mutation in the virus and thereby prompts the production of a fluorescent protein that can be observed via microscopy.

Infographic: DNA Damage Viewed with Unprecedented Clarity

DNA Damage Viewed with Unprecedented Clarity

Artist’s rendition of a blue-green DNA double helix, viewed lengthwise from within one end.

Stem Cell Lines Riddled With Undetected Mutations

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