Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 29, 2026

Analyzing and Building Nucleic Acid Structures with 3DNA
16:24

Analyzing and Building Nucleic Acid Structures with 3DNA

Published on: April 26, 2013

Crystallographic studies of DNA and RNA

Blaine H M Mooers1

  • 1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, 975 NE 10th Street, BRC 466, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA. blaine-mooers@ouhsc.edu

Methods (San Diego, Calif.)
|October 14, 2008
PubMed

More Related Videos

Iterative Optimization of DNA Duplexes for Crystallization of SeqA-DNA Complexes11:42

Iterative Optimization of DNA Duplexes for Crystallization of SeqA-DNA Complexes

Published on: November 1, 2012

On-Chip Crystallization and Large-Scale Serial Diffraction at Room Temperature07:42

On-Chip Crystallization and Large-Scale Serial Diffraction at Room Temperature

Published on: March 11, 2022

Related Concept Videos

X-ray Diffraction of Biological Samples01:10

X-ray Diffraction of Biological Samples

X-ray diffraction or XRD is an analytical tool that utilizes X-rays to study ordered structures such as crystalline organic and inorganic samples, polycrystalline materials, proteins, carbohydrates, and drugs.
According to Bragg's law, when X-rays strike the sample positioned on a stage, the rays are  scattered by the electron clouds around the sample atoms. The  X-ray diffraction or scattering is caused by constructive interference of the X-ray waves that reflect off the internal crystal...
The DNA Helix01:07

The DNA Helix

Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is the genetic material responsible for passing traits from generation to generation in all organisms and most viruses. DNA is composed of two strands of nucleotides that wind around each other to form a spring-like structure called a double helix. However, the double helix is not perfectly symmetrical. Instead, there are regularly occurring grooves in the structure. The major groove occurs where the sugar-phosphate backbones are relatively far apart. This space...
The DNA Helix01:16

The DNA Helix

Overview
X-ray Crystallography02:18

X-ray Crystallography

The size of the unit cell and the arrangement of atoms in a crystal may be determined from measurements of the diffraction of X-rays by the crystal, termed X-ray crystallography.
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
Determination of Crystal Structures01:29

Determination of Crystal Structures

In the late 1800s, the revelation that light extended beyond visible wavelengths led to the discovery of X-rays by Wilhelm Roentgen. Recognized as high-energy electromagnetic radiation with short wavelengths, X-rays prompted exploration into their interaction with crystals. Max von Laue proposed in 1912 that the periodic arrangement of atoms, ions, or molecules in crystals would cause them to diffract X-rays, a hypothesis confirmed through experiments with copper sulfate and zinc sulfide...
DNA as a Genetic Template02:05

DNA as a Genetic Template

Two structural features of the DNA molecule provide a basis for the mechanisms of heredity: the four nucleotide bases and its double-stranded nature. The Watson-Crick model of double-helical DNA structure, proposed in 1952, drew heavily upon the X-ray crystallography work of researchers Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins. Watson, Crick, and Wilkins jointly received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work in 1962. Franklin was, controversially, excluded from the prize for...