Here's How Chromosomes ACTUALLY Look Like (Video)
Sep 26, 2013 18:24
Researchers from Babraham Institute and the University of Cambridge have completed a 3D model study of chromosomes that look less like anything you know. As the Babraham Institute's Dr. Peter Fraser explains:
The image of a chromosome, an X-shaped blob of DNA, is familiar to many but this microscopic portrait of a chromosome actually shows a structure that occurs only transiently in cells—at a point when they are just about to divide.
The vast majority of cells in an organism have finished dividing and their chromosomes don't look anything like the X-shape. Chromosomes in these cells exist in a very different form and so far it has been impossible to create accurate pictures of their structure.
The researchers had to use the latest DNA sequencing technology to track the movement of the chromosomes on a molecular level. It was a feat. Check it out in the video below:The vast majority of cells in an organism have finished dividing and their chromosomes don't look anything like the X-shape. Chromosomes in these cells exist in a very different form and so far it has been impossible to create accurate pictures of their structure.
[Nature via PhysOrg via The Verge]
