Related topics: dna
Double helix
hideIn geometry a double helix (plural helices) typically consists of two congruent helices with the same axis, differing by a translation along the axis, which may or may not be half-way.
The term "double helix" is commonly encountered in molecular biology, where it refers to the structure of DNA. The double-helix model of DNA structure was first published in the journal Nature by James D. Watson and Francis Crick in 1953, based upon the crucial X-ray diffraction image of DNA (labeled as "Photo 51") from Rosalind Franklin in 1952 , followed by her more clarified DNA image with Raymond Gosling, Maurice Wilkins, Alexander Stokes and Herbert Wilson, as well as base-pairing chemical and biochemical information by Erwin Chargaff.
Crick, Wilkins and Watson each received one third of the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their contributions to the discovery. (Franklin, whose breakthrough X-ray diffraction data was used to formulate the DNA structure, died in 1958, and thus was ineligible to be nominated for a Nobel Prize.)
The DNA double helix is a right-handed spiral polymer of nucleic acids, held together by nucleotides which base pair together. A single turn of the helix constitutes ten nucleotides. The double helix structure of DNA contains a major groove and minor groove, the major groove being wider than the minor groove. Given the difference in widths of the major groove and minor groove, many proteins which bind to DNA do so through the wider major groove .
The order, or sequence, of the nucleotides in the double helix within a gene specifies the primary structure of a protein.
The term entered popular culture with the publication in 1968 of The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA, by James Watson.
For more information about Double helix, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with double helix
Scientists decipher the 3-D structure of the human genome
Oct 08, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have deciphered the three-dimensional structure of the human genome, paving the way for new insights into genomic function and expanding our understanding of how cellular DNA folds ...
Chemists Reach from the Molecular to the Real World with Creation of 3-D DNA Crystals
Sep 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- New York University chemists have created three-dimensional DNA structures, a breakthrough bridging the molecular world to the world where we live. The work, reported in the latest issue of ...
Gene transcribing machine takes halting, backsliding trip along the DNA
Jul 30, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The body's nanomachines that read our genes don't run as smoothly as previously thought, according to a new study by University of California, Berkeley, scientists.
Chemists create bipedal, autonomous DNA walker
Apr 02, 2009 |
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Chemists at New York University and Harvard University have created a bipedal, autonomous DNA "walker" that can mimic a cell's transportation system. The device, which marks a step toward more complex synthetic molecular ...
Two proteins act as molecular tailors in DNA repair
Nov 13, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- On average, our cells encounter a very lethal form of DNA damage 10 times a day. Lucky for us, we have the capacity to repair each and every one of them. New research now reveals exactly how two well-known ...
Single-stranded DNA-binding protein is dynamic, critical to DNA repair
Oct 21, 2009 |
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Researchers report that a single-stranded DNA-binding protein (SSB), once thought to be a static player among the many molecules that interact with DNA, actually moves back and forth along single-stranded ...
Models begin to unravel how single DNA strands combine
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Oct 05, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Using computer simulations, a team of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers has identified some of the pathways through which single complementary strands of DNA interact and combine to form the double ...
Professor sheds light on DNA mechanisms
Jul 17, 2009 |
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By manipulating individual atoms in DNA and forming unique molecules, a Georgia State University researcher hopes to open new avenues in research towards better understanding the mechanisms of DNA replication and transcription, ...
Backtracking on DNA
Jun 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Accuracy is essential for life, so in converting the information stored in DNA into a form in which it can be used, a high level of precision is required. Dr Tanniemola Liverpool from the ...
Chemists see first building blocks to life on Earth
May 13, 2009 |
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Scientists at The University of Manchester have developed an experiment that sheds new and fascinating light on how life on Earth might have begun.
New nucleotide could revolutionize epigenetics
Apr 16, 2009 |
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Anyone who studied a little genetics in high school has heard of adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine - the A,T,G and C that make up the DNA code. But those are not the whole story. The rise of epigenetics in the past decade ...
Researchers explain process by which cells 'hide' potentially dangerous DNA segments
Apr 09, 2009 |
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The DNA in the 23 pairs of chromosomes in each of the billions of cells of the human body is so tightly packed that it would measure six feet in length if stretched end to end. A genome of this size can squeeze into a cell's ...
Biologists discover link between CGG repeats in DNA and neurological disorders
Biology /
Jan 11, 2009 |
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Researchers have long known that some repetitive DNA sequences can make human chromosomes "fragile," i.e. appearing constricted or even broken during cell divisions. Scientists at Tufts University have found that one such ...
Understanding DNA Repair and Cancer
Dec 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A protein that plays a key role in copying DNA also plays a vital role in repairing breaks in it, UC Davis scientists have found. The work is helping researchers understand how cancer cells can resist radiation ...
X-ray named top achievement by British museum
Nov 04, 2009 |
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The X-ray was named the most important modern scientific achievement Wednesday in a poll conducted for Britain's Science Museum, beating Apollo spacecraft and DNA.
