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Polymer Physics

DNA off the Hooke

Nature Nanotechnology volume 1, pages 100–101 (2006)Cite this article

Most models of DNA elasticity ignore the details of how it bends on short length scales. Now, high-resolution atomic force microscope images of DNA on a surface suggest that it is much more flexible than previously thought.

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Figure 1: DNA molecules can adopt a tightly wound shape, shown here, when packaged inside the nucleus of a cell11.
Figure 2: Schematic molecules with different persistence lengths.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Physical and Structural Biology, NICHD, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892-0924, MD

    Rudolf Podgornik

  2. University of Ljubljana and the Department of Theoretical Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, J. Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Rudolf Podgornik

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  1. Rudolf Podgornik
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Podgornik, R. DNA off the Hooke. Nature Nanotech 1, 100–101 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2006.114

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