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The Use Of Molecular Dynamics Simulations To Predict Thymine Dimer Formation In Histone Bound Dna, Emily Ann Brune Heinsen
The Use Of Molecular Dynamics Simulations To Predict Thymine Dimer Formation In Histone Bound Dna, Emily Ann Brune Heinsen
CUP Undergraduate Research
Thymine dimers are the major lesions in DNA that are caused by environmental conditions that can lead to apoptosis or can become carcinogenic (Schreier, et al., 2007). These dimers form when the pi electrons of one thymine in a neighboring thymine pair is excited by a photon from UV light, and occurs on the picosecond time scale (Schreier, et al., 2007). Due to the ultrafast nature of this reaction, the thymines must be in proper conformation prior to excitation in order for the reaction to take place. The proper conformation for the reaction has been found to occur when the …