Show Notes
This release contains only the music track from Base by Base Episode 119.
Song title: Pulse at the Repeat
Original Base by Base episode: 119: G-quadruplexes, pericentromeres, and B cell genome instability
Article metadata:
Article title: G- quadruplex stabilization induces DNA breaks in pericentromeric repetitive DNA sequences in B lymphocytes
Journal: PNAS
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2506939122
Reference: Waisertreiger I., Ayelea K., Elshaikha M.H., Barlow J.H. PNAS (2025) doi:10.1073/pnas.2506939122
Lyrics:
Verse 1
Bright screens, late hours, threads of code in the cell
Loops in the helix, where the folded letters dwell
Hold it too steady, and the copy line slows
A stutter in the rhythm where the pressure grows
Pre-Chorus
Pericentromere, like a drum that won’t relent
rDNA humming, where the energy is spent
Replication meets a wall, then a sudden flash
Two clean ends in the dark—double-strand crash
Chorus
G-quad, hold tight—then break, then break
In the repeat, in the heat—too much to take
Dicentric skyline, pulling both ways
If the checkpoint won’t stop it, the count rearranges
Verse 2
Micronuclei drifting like sparks from the flame
Satellites spinning with an unfamiliar name
Some cells hit the brakes, WEE1 in control
Others slip through the doorway and lose the whole
Bridge
Stabilize the fold, and you sharpen the blade
Aiming for the malign, but a risk is laid
Arrest or run, that decision decides
Whether four sets of echoes rise and collide
Final Chorus
G-quad, hold tight—then break, then break
In the repeat, in the heat—too much to take
From rDNA thunder to MaSat haze
Turn the pulse into clarity, light up the ways
