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"Decoding DNA" is such a bad name. He figured out the double helix. DNA isn't decoded yet. Genes have a preamble, and postamble, and we have very little idea w
by waps 12y ago
"Decoding DNA" is such a bad name. He figured out the double helix.
DNA isn't decoded yet. Genes have a preamble, and postamble, and we have very little idea what they mean, we only know what compounds are "requested" by the codons in the middle of the gene. There are large "empty" parts in chromosomes (not just the telomeres), and while we know they're not optional, exactly what they're for is anyone's guess. Furthermore, genes are known to contain some sort of symbolic pointers to other genes, which we don't know the format of.
Also the way the cell nucleus decodes DNA into the chromatin network, which should be thought of as the CPU that "executes" DNA contains a lot of stuff we don't know about. For starters, there are molecules linking across DNA molecules ... what do they signify ? How do they work ? How is gene expression controlled by the DNA (presumably has to do with the pre-and-postambles of genes). How does the pointer resolution in genes work ?
What we know as the double helix, what everybody thinks of as DNA, is really a picture of sex (or "conception" if you want to get technical. That's why we have sex of course). DNA only occurs in that form during reproduction (could be cell, or organism reproduction of course, though during cell (asexual) reproduction it's only present for a few seconds at best, during sexual reproduction it exists for a few minutes)
- kendallpark 12y ago> What we know as the double helix, what everybody thinks of as DNA, is really a picture of sex (or "conception" if you want to get technical. That's why we have sex of course). DNA only occurs in that form during reproduction (could be cell, or organism reproduction of course, though during cell (asexual) reproduction it's only present for a few seconds at best, during sexual reproduction it exists for a few minutes) ??? What are you talking about? DNA exists in a double helical form almost always. An exception is when it is "unzipped" for transcription or duplication. (And that's only a few nucleotides at a time.) I have no idea how you're relating sex to the double helical structure of DNA.
- waps 12y agoIn the chromatin network there's no double helix, because it's always mostly unrolled and various things are bound to it. It looks a lot more like a ladder. The double helix as analyzed only exists as part of chromosomes.
- kendallpark 12y agoIt seems you are mistaking DNA's quaternary structure for its tertiary structure. DNA's tertiary structure remains helical while wound up in chromatin. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Nucleosome_1KX5_2.png http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Nucleosom... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucleic_acid_structure http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucleic_acid_structure