Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 7, 2026
16:24
Analyzing and Building Nucleic Acid Structures with 3DNA
Published on: April 26, 2013
A note on graphing helical parameters of dynamics structure of DNA
1Department of Chemistry, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138.
Journal of Molecular Graphics
|September 1, 1990
Abstract:
A graphical procedure for analysis of helical parameters in dynamic structure of DNA is described. The performance of the procedure is illustrated by analysis of a 20 ps dynamics simulation of the non-self-complementary ninemer, 5'CAAACAGGA:5'TCCTGTTTG, which is a part of DNA from lacI gene. The dynamics trajectory of the duplex shows sequence-dependent fluctuations of helical parameters.
Related Concept Videos
01:16The DNA Helix
Overview
01:16The DNA Helix
Overview
02:05DNA 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...
02:21Chromatin Packaging
Each human somatic cell contains 6 billion base-pairs of DNA. Each base-pair is 0.34 nm long, which means that each diploid cell contains a staggering 2 meters of DNA. How is such a long DNA strand packed inside a nucleus measuring only 10 - 20 microns in diameter?
The chromatin
In combination with specialized DNA binding protein called Histones, the DNA double helix forms a compact DNA: protein complex called chromatin. The chromatin itself is further compacted into higher-order structures.
The chromatin
In combination with specialized DNA binding protein called Histones, the DNA double helix forms a compact DNA: protein complex called chromatin. The chromatin itself is further compacted into higher-order structures.
01:07The 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...
01:32Chromatin Packaging
Each human somatic cell contains 6 billion base pairs of DNA. Each base pair is 0.34 nm long, meaning each diploid cell contains a staggering 2 meters of DNA. This long DNA strand is packed inside a nucleus measuring only 10-20 microns in diameter with the help of specialized DNA-binding proteins called histones. Together they form a compact DNA-protein complex called chromatin. The chromatin is further compacted into higher-order structures. The highest level of compaction is achieved during...