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Shape-shifters aren't just the stuff of fiction, they're real -- and they're inside our DNA. Researchers have described how two normally mismatched bases in human DNA, guanine and thymine, are able to change shape in order to form an inconspicuous rung on the helical DNA "ladder." This allows them to survive by avoiding the body's natural defenses against genetic mutations.
In effect, the guanine (G) and thymine (T) pair has to overcome an energy barrier to form and maintain itself. It turns out that when the G and T bases change shape, they make themselves more energy efficient -- still less efficient than a normal base pair, but efficient enough. Next, the researchers will try to replicate the experiments with another, somewhat less common mutation, the Adenine-cytosine mispair. This discovery provides a foundation for work on other types of DNA mutations, which are responsible for diseases as well as normal aging and even evolution.Image credit: The Ohio State University
