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Scientists decipher the 3D structure of human genome
Researchers found the human genome adopts an unusual organization known in mathematics as a "fractal." The specific architecture is called a "fractal globule," and enables the cell to pack DNA incredibly tightly while avoiding the knots and tangles that might interfere with the cell’s ability to read its own genome. Moreover, the DNA can easily unfold and refold during gene activation, gene repression, and cell replication. In this image, nearby regions on a chain of DNA are indicated using similar colors. The fractal globule has a hierarchical organization and regions nearby along the chain are also nearby in 3D.
[Research supported in part by a U.S. National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.]
Learn more in the Harvard Gazette story A look inside
Scientists have deciphered 3-D structure of the human genome. (Date of Image: 2009)
Credit: Leonld A. Mirny and Maxim Imakaev
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