Untangling the Double Helix: DNA Entanglement and the Action of the DNA Topoisomerases

Brushing out hair after a wild night is nothing compared to dealing with tangled DNA inside cells. Wang (emeritus biochemistry and molecular biology, Harvard U.) describes the elegant solutions that nature has devised, not only for untangling two twisted strands of DNA for replication, to make sure each progeny has one and only one whole strand of its parent, but also for keeping many bristly nucleic acids from getting so tangled that the cellular equivalent of a crewcut is required. Among his topics are breaking a DNA strand and holding on to the broken ends, real-time viewing of the DNA topiosomerases in action, manifestations of DNA entanglement in gene expression, and from nature's battlefields to the clinical wards. He writes for readers with limited background in the physical and biological sciences. Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)