Hi everyone,
Here is an article about i-motif....a new kind of DNA structure that is not the standard double helix.
https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-confirmed-a-new-dna-structure-inside-living-cells-i-motif-intercalated***********
For the first time, scientists have identified the existence of a new DNA structure never before seen in living cells.
The discovery of what's described as a 'twisted knot' of DNA in living cells confirms our complex genetic code is crafted with more intricate symmetry than just the double helix structure everybody associates with DNA – and the forms these molecular variants take affect how our biology functions.
"This new research reminds us that totally different DNA structures exist – and could well be important for our cells."
The new DNA component the team identified is called the intercalated motif (i-motif) structure, which was first discovered by researchers in the 1990s, but up until now had only ever been witnessed in vitro, not in living cells.
Now, thanks to Christ's team, we know the i-motif occurs naturally in human cells, meaning the structure's significance to cell biology – which has previously been called into question, given it had only been demonstrated in the lab – demands new attention from researchers.
"It seems likely that they are there to help switch genes on or off, and to affect whether a gene is actively read or not."
Now that we definitively know this new form of DNA exists in cells, it'll give researchers a mandate to figure out just what these structures are doing inside our bodies.
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Cheers.
Sriram
