Life's instructions are written in DNA, but it is the enzyme RNA polymerase II (Pol II) that reads the script, transcribing RNA in eukaryotic cells and eventually giving rise to proteins. Scientists ...

A detailed picture of what happens when DNA transcription is paused early in the process has been obtained by structural biologists at RIKEN. This could inform the development of new therapies. When ...

RNA Polymerase (shown in blue) moves across a template strand of DNA (shown in purple) and transcribes it into RNA (shown in red). But DNA damage blocks the RNA polymerase, causing it to stall and ...

A cell protein previously believed only to provide a scaffolding for DNA has also been shown to directly influence DNA transcription into RNA – the first step of the process by which an organism's ...

New research has uncovered more about the complexity of human gene regulation by identifying certain sequences of proteins called transcription factors that bind to DNA and regulate the expression of ...

When the molecular machinery in our cells gets to work transcribing the genetic information encoded in DNA into messenger RNA (mRNA), it pauses shortly after starting. Known as promoter-proximal ...

'Random DNA' is naturally active in the one-celled fungi yeast, while such DNA is turned off as its natural state in mammalian cells, despite their having a common ancestor a billion years ago and the ...

Researchers have discovered that in thale cresses histone H3 lysine-9 (H3K9) methylation, conventionally thought to be a mark of turning off gene transcription, can also turn on gene expression via ...

This image illustrates the process of gene transcription within a cell. The DNA double helix unwinds to expose a specific sequence, allowing RNA polymerase to synthesize a complementary pre-mRNA ...