DNA Resources

Do you know how long your DNA is? The thickness of a nucleotide is about 3.4 angstroms. There are about 3 billion bases in the haploid human genome (I should check this number, it's approximate). So we have

(3.4 angstroms/base)
x 3x10⁹ bases
x 1 meter / (10¹⁰ angstroms)
= 1 meter

So every cell in your body has twice this or about 6 feet of DNA if it were laid end to end!

Here is a nice Primer on DNA.

Which way does DNA twist? See the
Left Handed DNA Hall of Fame
and the
Right Handed DNA Hall of Fame
to find out.

Make Your Own DNA!!!

Watson-Crick Paper on the Web! The original paper on the structure of DNA is:

@article{WatsonCrick1953,
author = "J. D. Watson
 and F. H. C. Crick",
title = "Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids:
A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid",
journal = "Nature",
volume = "171",
pages = "737-738",
year = "1953"}

(The reference format above is in Bibtex format and therefore is computer parsable and can be used with the free LaTeX typesetting package.)

The Smithsonian Institution Libraries had a show on Science and the Artist's Book that put the original Watson and Crick paper on line! This is their very readable copy and here is my copy in case their machine is inaccessable.
as of 1998 Nov 19
An annotated ascii version is at www.exploratorium.edu.

Access Excellence is an educational program of Genentech) which has many pages describing molecular biology.

as of 1999 January 30

Eureka ! Science Corp. has a children's introduction to DNA.

as of 1999 February 24

@article{Fujiyoshi.Uyeda1981,
author = "Y. Fujiyoshi
 and N. Uyeda",
title = "Direct imaging of a double-strand {DNA} molecule",
journal = "Ultramicroscopy",
volume = "7",
pages = "189-192",
year = "1981"}

shows the right handed twist by direct imaging!

as of 2000 July 12

@article{Harada.Kinosita2001,
author = "Y. Harada
 and O. Ohara
 and A. Takatsuki
 and H. Itoh
 and N. Shimamoto
 and K. {Kinosita Jr}",
title = "{Direct observation of DNA rotation during transcription
by \emph{Escherichia coli} RNA polymerase}",
journal = "Nature",
volume = "409",
pages = "113-115",
year = "2001"}

This paper describes a very cute experiment in which an RNA polymerase was attached to a surface. DNA was bound to the RNA polymerase. On the other end of the DNA was a magnetic bead with smaller fluorescent beads on it. A magnet was used to hold the big bead up. When ribonucleotides were added, the bead rotated. They say: "Up to a few percent of beads in an observation chamber rotated continuously ... invariably clockwise when viewed from [the] top ... Threading a right-handed double helix of DNA through RNA polymerase will, in a simple mechanism, produce clockwise rotation."

as of 2001 January 12

DNA is like Coca-Cola!

An Amusing Story

I was at a genomics conference and someone had a tie on with a "left-handed helix" displayed and I happened to mention that fact to the wearer. I mentioned your web-site and we discussed it a bit, but the others at the table didn't quite realize what we were actually talking about at that time. We went on discussing "left-handed" sightings at seminars and the such. Then, the person next to me quietly nudged me, looking quite worried, and asked if I could help identify whether a helix were in the right- or left-handed orientation for him. He then rolled up his sleeve to show off the very fancy tattoo of a DNA helices he had banded around his bicep. Lucky for him, it was in the right-handed orientation. He had a sigh of relief after learning his tattoo was represented appropriately.

Thanks to Gerard R Lazo, USDA-ARS-Western Regional Research Ctr, 800 Buchanan St, Albany, CA 94710-1105, lazo@pw.usda.gov, 2002 Feb 26

A DNA Sculpture Made with Shopping Carts . 2004 May 18. Thanks to Janet and Dana Kinzer for pointing this one out!

This DNA Resources page was created by Tom Schneider. It is at http://www.ccrnp.ncifcrf.gov/~toms/DNA.Resources.html.

None of the statements on this page are intended to endorse or favor any product over other equivalent products on the market.

If you would like to contribute examples, please

Tell me the URL where the item is on the web.
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Thanks!
- Tom Schneider

Schneider Lab
origin: 1998 November 23
updated: 2005 Jul 2