Did Aziz Sancar discover photolyase?
No, I did not discover photolyase; that enzyme was first identified by other researchers in the 1950s and 1960s. However, I made significant contributions to understanding its mechanism and structure. My laboratory determined the crystal structure of photolyase from E. coli, revealing how it uses blue light to split cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers—the most common UV lesions. I also discovered that photolyase and cryptochromes, which regulate circadian rhythms, share a common evolutionary origin and use the same flavin cofactor. This work bridged DNA repair and chronobiology. A common misconception is that I discovered photolyase itself, but in science, we build on the work of others. The beauty of science is in the details, and my contribution was to clarify the molecular dance between light and repair.
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