NER (Nucleotide Excision Repair)

Nucleotide Excision Repair (NER) is a natural process in our cells that fixes damaged DNA caused by factors like sunlight or pollution. When DNA develops harmful wrinkles or lesions, NER detects these problems and removes a short segment of the damaged strand. Then, the cell fills in the missing part with the correct sequence using the undamaged strand as a template. This repair mechanism helps maintain genetic integrity, preventing mutations that could lead to diseases such as skin cancer. In essence, NER is the cell’s way of proofreading and fixing its genetic blueprint to keep us healthy.