{"id":242531,"date":"2026-08-11T05:30:28","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T10:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/2026\/08\/dna-repair-enzymes-favor-specific-sequences-shaping-mutation-patterns-in-the-human-genome"},"modified":"2026-08-11T05:30:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T10:30:28","slug":"dna-repair-enzymes-favor-specific-sequences-shaping-mutation-patterns-in-the-human-genome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/2026\/08\/dna-repair-enzymes-favor-specific-sequences-shaping-mutation-patterns-in-the-human-genome","title":{"rendered":"DNA repair enzymes favor specific sequences, shaping mutation patterns in the human genome"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"aligncenter blog-photo\" href=\"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog.images\/dna-repair-enzymes-favor-specific-sequences-shaping-mutation-patterns-in-the-human-genome.jpg\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>When a wound does not heal properly, it leaves a scar. Similarly, mutations\u2014which are permanent changes to genetic code\u2014are often the result of damaged DNA that has not been properly repaired. Mutations can impede the function of genes and lead to disease and aging, but they are also the source of genetic variation, which allows new traits to emerge and facilitates the evolutionary process. Scientists still do not fully understand why some damaged DNA segments are successfully repaired while others are not.<\/p>\n<p>In a new study <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-026-74090-0\" target=\"_blank\">published<\/a> in <i>Nature Communications<\/i>, researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science succeeded in identifying which DNA sequences and structures are the preferred targets for several of the most important DNA repair enzymes. The findings from the laboratory of Dr. Ariel Afek suggest that these preferences shaped the human genome and could even help explain how cells become cancerous.<\/p>\n<p>Every day, thousands of chemical reactions take place in every living cell, damaging the genome. \u201cWhen DNA repair systems work properly, they repair most of the damage, but not all of it,\u201d Afek explains. \u201cTherefore, the rate at which mutations accumulate is a balance between the rate of damage and the rate of repair.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When a wound does not heal properly, it leaves a scar. Similarly, mutations\u2014which are permanent changes to genetic code\u2014are often the result of damaged DNA that has not been properly repaired. Mutations can impede the function of genes and lead to disease and aging, but they are also the source of genetic variation, which allows [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":427,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,19,412,269],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-242531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biotech-medical","category-chemistry","category-genetics","category-life-extension"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242531","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\/427"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242531\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}