![]() ![]() It seems to play by different rules than double-helix DNA, too. The fact that scientists finally observed this different form of DNA in human cells is a pretty big deal, but it’s actually even more than just a different shape. “We provide the first direct evidence for the presence of i-motif structures in the nuclei of human cells,” the study’s authors write, as this is the first time anyone has observed the i-motif DNA, except for in lab conditions that don’t represent actual conditions in a living cell. Researchers observed the i-motif DNA blink in and out, suggesting that it's regulating a cell function. They suspect that the i-shaped DNA, which had previously only been observed in lab conditions very different from those in a living cell, regulates some genetic functions. ![]() student at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia, developed an antibody that would bind to the elusive DNA and allow them to capture images of it with the help of immunofluorescent staining. ![]() In a paper published Monday in the journal Nature Chemistry, a team of researchers describe their evidence for the existence and possible function of this knotty DNA, called “human telomeric i-motif.” To identify the i-motif DNA, the researchers, led by first author Mahdi Zeraati a Ph.D. They theorized that it’s knot-shaped, though they’d never observed it in a living cell … until now. But scientists have long suspected there’s another type of DNA that looks quite different from the famous Watson-Crick model. When we learn about human genetics in high school biology class, one of the most basic things we learn about is the DNA double helix, the twisting ladder-shaped structure that holds our genetic code. ![]()
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