Donna Wrublewski

Analysis for Science Librarians of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: DNA Repair Mechanisms

ABSTRACT The 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry recognized three scientists for their contributions to understanding the mechanisms of DNA repair. Tomas Lindahl discovered the mechanism—base excision repair—by which individual bases, damaged by degradation, for example, are repaired. Paul Modrich showed how DNA repairs mismatched bases that occur during DNA replication. Aziz Sancar elucidated the complete mechanism for nucleotide excision repair, the process by which DNA damaged by UV irradiation or other mutagenic agents is fixed. Without these mechanisms, life as we know it would not exist due to the number of errors and mutations that appear in DNA.

CHAPTER 8:Searching For Polymers

A polymer is broadly defined as a substance made up of many linked atoms or smaller molecules. Unlike small molecules, polymer properties can vary considerably depending on the method of synthesis, measurement technique, and experimental conditions. As such, knowing additional information about the polymer of interest can be helpful when searching for specific information. This chapter outlines some of this additional information to aid in searching primary literature, and also includes references to secondary compendia where possible.