A University of Sheffield study has provided a brand new insight into how our DNA can replicate itself.
The team has captured "never before seen snapshots of enzymes trimming branched DNA after cell division".
The team likened it to the X-Files, in which Agent Scully "suspected aliens inserted branched DNA into her blood".
The research shows how branched DNA modules are removed from the double-helix.
"Far from being of alien origin, branched DNA is formed every day in our bodies," said Jon Sayers, Professor of Functional Genomics at the university, and lead author of the study. "It happens every time our cells divide."
"These branches are essential intermediates formed during the process of copying our DNA."
The team used the Diamond Light Source to picture snapshots of "molecular events", depicting how "Flap EndoNuclease enzymes (FENs) trim branched DNA molecules after cells have divided".
The Diamond Light Source is a giant microscope, using electrons to create a super-bright x-ray beam which allows scientists to study "anything form fossils and jet engines to viruses and vaccines".
The FENs were able to "thread the free end of the branch through a hole in the enzyme before sliding along to the trunk where it acts like a pair of molecular secateurs, trimming the branch and restoring the iconic double-helix".
"The FENs analysed in the study are very similar to those used in diagnostic tests for genetic diseases, bacteria and viruses," said Sayers. "Understanding how they work will help to engineer better and more reliable tests and tools for laboratory research and hospital diagnostics labs."
Understanding the process at a molecular level will help us understand "one of the most basic cellular processes in all life".
The enzymes involved in the process are involved in cancer, tumour progression and mutation, so the team hope that the discovery will "pave the way for better diagnostics" or even new and improved drugs. It may also help develop drugs used to fight bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics.
"We can now see the details of how cells have evolved to tidy up after themselves as they copy their DNA, which reduces their risk of harmful mutations," said John Rafferty, who works at the University of Sheffield's Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology and co-authored the study.
"This sort of information is fundamental in helping us understand and maybe treat those cells where occasionally things do go wrong."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
