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xchrom

(108,903 posts)
Mon Jan 21, 2013, 07:33 AM Jan 2013

'Quadruple helix' DNA seen in human cells

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21091066


A representation of the four-stranded structure (L) with fluorescent markers revealing its presence inside cells (R)

Cambridge University scientists say they have seen four-stranded DNA at work in human cells for the first time.

The famous "molecule of life", which carries our genetic code, is more familiar to us as a double helix.

But researchers tell the journal Nature Chemistry that the "quadruple helix" is also present in our cells, and in ways that might possibly relate to cancer.

They suggest that control of the structures could provide novel ways to fight the disease.
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