Mapping DNA Repair
Like all things, your DNA accumulates damage over time; complex, highly efficient biochemical systems are in place to repair that damage, but some still leaks through. This accumulation is one root cause of aging, and so the more we know about DNA repair, the better. Here, The Scientist notes that researchers have "used a systems biology approach to create a map of transcriptional networks that are activated when yeast DNA is damaged. We now know an order of magnitude more pathway connections than were known before, as far as how information is transmitted through the cell in response to damage ... Looking at cellular processes from a wide-angle view -- rather than the one-gene, one-protein approach of classical biology -- permits the construction of 'a complete wiring diagram' of transcriptional interactions, [which] will help scientists control cellular response to DNA damage."