Research led by a scientist at the University of York has
thrown new light on the way breakdowns in the DNA copying process inside cells
can contribute to cancer and other diseases.
Peter McGlynn, an Anniversary Professor in the University’s
Department of Biology, led a team of researchers who have discovered that the
protein machines that copy DNA in a model organism pause frequently during this
copying process, creating the potential for dangerous mutations to develop.
The research, which is published in the Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), involved scientists at the School of
Medical Sciences at the University of Aberdeen, where Professor McGlynn worked
previously, the Centre for Genetics and Genomics at the Queen’s Medical Centre,
University of Nottingham and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New
York.