Water bear genes can shield our cells

• Autores: Andy Coghlan
• Localización: New scientist, ISSN 0262-4079, Nº. 3092, 2016, pág. 10
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Tardigrades, also known as water bears, are tiny creatures that live in small bodies of water in habitats such as moss. They can also survive in the vacuum of outer space, withstand temperatures from close to absolute zero to nearly 100 and cope with pressures six times higher than those at the bottom of the deepest ocean. They manage to endure radiation that would kill most other life on Earth, it's largely because they have evolved a bizarre protein that somehow shields their DNA. Short for "Damage suppressor", Osup appears to cuddle up to DNA and cocoon it from harm, but without disrupting its normal functions. It may also mop up DNA-harming chemicals called, reactive oxygen species