Cambridge University scientists say they have seen
four-stranded DNA at work in human cells for the first time and wonder
if it might provide a target for the development of novel anti-cancer
treatments.
Sometimes the double helix likes to mix it up! Scientists at the University
of Cambridge, United Kingdom, have found that DNA at the end of chromosomes
actually have a very different structure: instead of double-stranded,
they have four strands.
Balasubramanian's group has been pursuing a four-stranded version of
the molecule that scientists have produced in the test tube now for
a number of years.
It is called the G-quadruplex. The "G" refers to guanine,
one of the four chemical groups, or "bases", that hold DNA
together and which encode our genetic information (the others being
adenine, cytosine, and thymine).
The G-quadruplex seems to form in DNA where guanine exists in substantial
quantities.
Jonathan Amos of BBC has the post:
Here.
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