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Host Jorge Salazar interviews scientists Karen Vasquez and Albino Bacolla of the University of Texas at Austin.
Supercomputers have helped scientists find a surprising link between cross-shaped pieces of DNA and human cancer, according to a study at The University of Texas at Austin.
DNA naturally folds itself into cross-shaped structures called cruciforms that jut out along the sprawling length of its double helix. The DNA cruciforms typically aren't anything to worry about. In fact, previous evidence show that DNA cruciforms are essential to life. They enable DNA replication, part of how cells make copies of themselves. And they help initiate gene expression, which makes proteins. What's more small DNA cruciforms are commonly found inside our bodies. Scientists estimate as many as 500,000 cruciform-forming sequences of DNA can exist on average in a normal human genome.
What the UT scientists are doing is investigating the origins of human cancer. And what they've found is that these tiny cruciforms - just a small shape of normal DNA - are linked to mutations that can elevate cancer risk.
