Stem Cells Sabotage DNA To Produce New Tissues
Human cells contain 46 strands of DNA that code for all our genes. Certain chemicals and UV light can break these strands into pieces, a process that typically leads to cell death or diseases such as cancer if the damage is not repaired quickly. But new research, published in PNAS, shows for the first time that stem cells will intentionally cut and then repair their own DNA as a mechanism of activating genes that promote the development of new tissues. The discovery could help researchers develop better ways to activate stem cells, so that they can produce new tissues for therapeutic purposes. It also suggests that DNA mutations, which can contribute to a variety of diseases, may initially occur as a result of a normal cellular process. read more