Amazing Animation: Correcting Replication Errors

[smfadmin (OP)]

One wrong DNA letter can change everything.
DNA contains roughly 3 billion letters, and every time a cel divides, that information must be copied.
The surprising part ?

DNA doesn't rely on just one accuracy check.

A backup system called mismatch repair catches errors that escape the copying machinery. It also corrects tiny extra or missing pieces of DNA, especially in repetitive sequences.
When this protection fails, mistakes can accumulate. Scientists call one telltale consequence microsatellite instability, an important marker in certain cancers.

Scientists call one telltale consequence microsatellite instability, an important marker in certain cancers.

The incredible thing isn't that DNA copying makes mistakes. It's how many mistakes our cells prevent from becoming permanent.

So DNA is not the perfect blueprint that we were led to believe !