{"id":12821,"date":"2022-05-06T13:22:30","date_gmt":"2022-05-06T11:22:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/?p=119061"},"modified":"2022-05-06T13:42:08","modified_gmt":"2022-05-06T11:42:08","slug":"quantum-weirdness-could-be-the-driving-force-behind-dna-mutations","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/quantum-weirdness-could-be-the-driving-force-behind-dna-mutations\/","title":{"rendered":"Quantum weirdness could be the driving force behind DNA mutations"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Jason Goodyer\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 06 May 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Genetic mutations are changes in the DNA of an organism that can result from errors made during cell division, viral infections or exposure to radiation and carcinogens. They are essential to evolution as they can lead to adaptations that allow certain organisms to outcompete others in their environment but can also lead to disease.<\/p>\n

They can be thought of as \u2018spelling mistakes\u2019 in an organism\u2019s genetic code. DNA<\/a> is made up of four bases \u2013 A, C, T and G \u2013 that under normal conditions always bond together in specific ways: A always bonds to T, for example. These bonds form the \u2018rungs\u2019 of the twisted ladder that makes up DNA\u2019s iconic double helix structure.<\/p>\n

However, if the nature of these bonds becomes altered in some way the normal pairing rules breakdown, leading to incorrect bases becoming attached to one another and possibly giving rise to a mutation.<\/p>\n

Now, researchers from Surrey University have found that this mismatched bonding may be caused by a mysterious phenomenon known as quantum tunnelling<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Tunnelling occurs when particles move through a barrier that, according to classical physics, they shouldn\u2019t be able to via quantum effects<\/a>. The barrier may be a physically impassable medium, such as an insulator, or a region of high energy that the particle isn\u2019t energetic enough to overcome.<\/p>\n

In the case of genetic mutations, the Surrey team found that protons, subatomic particles involved in the bonding of DNA, are continuously tunnelling back and forth across the energy barrier found between the two sides of the helix.<\/p>\n

If they do this in the moments before the helix splits along its centre during the first stage of the DNA copying process, some of the protons can get caught on the wrong side. This can lead to an error in copying and, potentially, a mutation.<\/p>\n

\u201cBiologists would typically expect tunnelling to play a significant role only at low temperatures and in relatively simple systems,\u201d said the study\u2019s co-author Dr Marco Sacchi<\/a>. \u201cTherefore, they tended to discount quantum effects in DNA. With our study, we believe we have proved that these assumptions do not hold.\u201d<\/p>\n