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Saturday, 1 December 2012

DNA's double helix is pictured for the first time: Researchers hope new technique will reveal how the molecule works

Daily Mail: Scientists have for the first time captured a direct image of DNA, the structure that encodes the genetic instructions of all living organisms. Enzo di Fabrizio and colleagues from the University of Genoa, Italy, developed a technique to capture the famous double helix of DNA using a scanning electron microscope. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecules encode the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and many viruses. Along with RNA and proteins, DNA is one of the three major macromolecules that are essential for all known forms of life. Previously the DNA helix could only be detected using a technique known as X-ray crystallography, which involves scattering X rays off atoms in crystallised arrays of DNA ... read more>>>...