Born Smart » DNA Repair

What happens when you break a chromosome?

Admin — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:12:00 +0000

Environmental toxins, smoking and sun exposure can cause damage to our DNA. The most dangerous type of DNA damage is a double strand break that can lead to cancer or cell death. Fortunately human cells have complex repair mechanisms to fix DNA damage that occur every day.

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute discovered how Rad51, one of many proteins involved in DNA repair, repair these serious double strand DNA breaks. Within one hour of the break Rad51 build up and spread in two opposite directions from the break to cover the entire chromosome.

Previous studies on other DNA repair proteins like BRAC1 and BRAC2 showed how cruciferous vegetables like cabbage and broccoli can help these proteins repair your DNA.

The malfunctioning of Rad51, BRAC1 and BRAC2 has been linked to breast cancer. Eating a nutritious diet, especially during pregnancy can help protect your baby from DNA damage caused by environmental toxins and other agents, by strengthening your and baby’s DNA repair systems.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090212133209.htm

Protecting your baby’s genes

Admin — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 21:53:00 +0000

An unborn baby divide and multiply cells at an astonishing rate, his cells correcting errors as he grows. Part of this repair machinery is the telomerase enzyme, a cluster of proteins that repair the ends of chromosomes when they are lost during replication. Researchers have now discovered how telomerase reach its DNA targets, a protein named TCAB1 are responsible for chauffeuring the telomerase enzyme around.

Sun exposure, smoking and environmental toxins can cause genetic and epigenetic mutations. Currently the only defense we have against our polluted environment is food. If you think a supplement will give you and our baby the protection you need, you may as well believe that you can drive to the next galaxy with a car.

Based on how little we know supplements couldn’t possibly be sufficient, especially during pregnancy when baby is fine-tuning his genetic switches.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090129140847.htm”

Sperm, it’s in the shake

Admin — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 22:13:00 +0000

Researchers have developed a new sperm shaker technique to evaluate DNA damage in sperm for use in IVF. The lead scientist Dr Alistair Elfick says, “In natural conception the fittest and healthiest sperm are positively selected by the arduous journey they make to the egg. What our technology does is to replace natural selection with a DNA based ‘quality score’ to help determine “if the sperm is strong and healthy.”

Using two highly focused beams of laser light like optical tweezers, researchers identify the sperms DNA properties by the pattern of the vibrations they emit. Previous quality test of sperm involved cutting them open to check their shape and activity. These tests only gave and indication of health not DNA damage and also killed the sperm rendering them useless. The new test does not destroy the sperm and can therefore still be used in IVF treatment.

Researchers hope this new test will not only help increase IVF success rates but also potentially give IVF babies the best possible start in life.

Help your baby repair DNA during your pregnancy

Admin — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 21:35:00 +0000

DNA damage occurs every day through oxidization, ultraviolet rays from the sun, and environmental toxins. Your body has an enzyme system that is responsible for repairing many types of DNA damage. A study from the University of North Carolina found this enzyme system that cuts out and replace sections of DNA, is driven by out circadian clock.

All cells in our body have their own internal clock but a master clock in our brain coordinate and synchronize each and every one. Researchers found that our ability to repair DNA damage was at its lowest early in the morning and reached a peak in the evening hours.

Make sure you eat the right foods to help you and your baby to repair DNA damage during your pregnancy.