{"id":125316,"date":"2021-07-22T20:22:55","date_gmt":"2021-07-23T03:22:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/2021\/07\/brain-cells-snap-open-their-dna-to-make-memories-extent-of-dna-double-strand-breaks-is-surprising-and-concerning"},"modified":"2021-07-22T20:22:55","modified_gmt":"2021-07-23T03:22:55","slug":"brain-cells-snap-open-their-dna-to-make-memories-extent-of-dna-double-strand-breaks-is-surprising-and-concerning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/2021\/07\/brain-cells-snap-open-their-dna-to-make-memories-extent-of-dna-double-strand-breaks-is-surprising-and-concerning","title":{"rendered":"Brain Cells Snap Open Their DNA To Make Memories \u2013 Extent of DNA Double-Strand Breaks Is \u201cSurprising and Concerning\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"aligncenter blog-photo\" href=\"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog.images\/brain-cells-snap-open-their-dna-to-make-memories-extent-of-dna-double-strand-breaks-is-surprising-and-concerning2.jpg\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>To quickly express learning and memory genes, brain cells snap both strands of DNA in many more places and cell types than previously realized, a new study shows.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The urgency to remember a dangerous experience requires the brain to make a series of potentially dangerous moves: Neurons and other brain cells snap open their DNA in numerous locations \u2014 more than<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cell.com\/fulltext\/S0092-8674(15)00622-4\"> previously realized<\/a>, according to a new study \u2014 to provide quick access to genetic instructions for the mechanisms of memory storage.<\/p>\n<p>The extent of these DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) in multiple key brain regions is surprising and concerning, says study senior author Li-Huei Tsai, Picower Professor of Neuroscience at MIT and director of The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, because while the breaks are routinely repaired, that process may become more flawed and fragile with age. Tsai\u2019s lab has shown that lingering DSBs are associated with neurodegeneration and cognitive decline and that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-020-16361-y\">repair mechanisms can falter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To quickly express learning and memory genes, brain cells snap both strands of DNA in many more places and cell types than previously realized, a new study shows. The urgency to remember a dangerous experience requires the brain to make a series of potentially dangerous moves: Neurons and other brain cells snap open their DNA [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":396,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,412,47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biotech-medical","category-genetics","category-neuroscience"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/396"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125316\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}