No knots: DNA may be packed inside cell nuclei
as a compact, unknotted structure called a fractal globule.
Credit: Leonid A. Mirny and Maxim Imakaev/Science
New publications, experiments and breakthroughs in biomedicine--and what they mean.
Three-Dimensional Genome
New technology reveals the higher-order structure of DNA.
Source: "Comprehensive mapping of long-range interactions reveals folding principles of the human genome"
Eric S. Lander, Job Dekker, et al.
Science 326: 289-293
Results: Scientists developed a tool that makes it possible to map the three-dimensional structure of the entire human genome, shedding light on how six feet of DNA is packed into a cell nucleus about three micrometers in diameter. According to the resulting analysis, chromosomes are folded so that the active genes--the ones this particular cell is using to make proteins--are close together.
To read the entire article you must log in:
Most of our content — all daily news, blogs, and videos — is free. Magazine stories are paid. To read this story, you must have a subscription or you must use a reading credit. Registration to Technology Review is free and entitles registrants to three free reading credits.
Manufacturing in the United States is in trouble. That's bad news not just for the country's economy but for the future of innovation.
On Twitter
Become a Fan on Facebook
Subscribe to the Feed