DNA repair
Damages are physical abnormalities in the DNA, such as single- and double-strand breaks. DNA damages can be recognized by enzymes, and so they can be repaired. Repair needs the undamaged sequence in the complementary DNA strand or in a homologous chromosome. If a cell retains DNA damage, transcription of a gene can be prevented, and, thus, translation into a protein will also be blocked. Replication may also be blocked or the cell may die.