Unrepaired DNA damage becomes permanent mutation after replication, driving cancer and ageing.
Spontaneous damage such as deamination and oxidation happens thousands of times per cell per day. Repair fixes most. When repair fails or is overwhelmed, mutations arise, and accumulate over a lifetime.
Carcinogens such as tobacco smoke and UV create characteristic mutation signatures.
Unrepaired DNA damage becomes permanent mutation after replication, driving cancer and ageing.
Mutation and Repair Link is one of the 52 topics in Molecular Biology. It is rated Intermediate, so it suits learners who already know the core vocabulary. Related topics in this area include DNA Repair, DNA Replication, DNA Methylation.
UV causes C to T changes at pyrimidine dimers in skin cancers.
Work through the Beginner topics in Molecular Biology first, such as Central Dogma, DNA Replication, Base Pairing, then return to Mutation and Repair Link. Intermediate topics assume the Beginner vocabulary.
The closest topics to Mutation and Repair Link are DNA Repair, DNA Replication, DNA Methylation, Enhancers and Silencers. Comparing them side by side is a good way to see how the ideas connect.
Read the summary and the in-depth section, then use the quick check on the interactive lesson for Mutation and Repair Link. To practise the whole of Molecular Biology, use the Molecular Biology quiz.
Mutation and Repair Link: Unrepaired DNA damage becomes permanent mutation after replication, driving cancer and ageing. DNA Repair: Mechanisms such as mismatch, excision and double-strand break repair that fix errors and damage in DNA. Read both side by side and note what each one explains.
First, read the summary and write the definition in your own words. Second, read the in-depth section and note any example. Third, compare it with DNA Repair and explain the difference aloud. Finally, take the Molecular Biology quiz and come back to this page for any question you miss.
Mechanisms such as mismatch, excision and double-strand break repair that fix errors and damage in DNA.
🧫 Molecular BiologyThe copying of DNA before cell division so each daughter cell receives a full set of genes.
🧫 Molecular BiologyAddition of methyl groups to cytosine, usually silencing gene expression.
🧫 Molecular BiologyDistant regulatory DNA elements that increase or decrease transcription via looping to the promoter.
🧫 Molecular Biology