HEALTH
DNA found twisting into weird shapes to get into cells
Words by Yasemin Saplakoglu
Scientists recently captured a highresolution video of DNA shimmying into weird shapes in order to squeeze inside cells. In 1952 Rosalind Franklin produced the first indirect picture of DNA by studying how X-rays bounce off these fundamental molecules. But it wasn’t until 2012 that scientists captured a direct photo of DNA using an electron microscope.
Now a group of researchers in the UK have captured high-definition videos of DNA in motion using a combination of advanced microscopy and simulations. But they weren’t just playing paparazzi to the building blocks of life; they were trying to understand how DNA moves to squeeze itself into cells.