A study published by the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) has been the first to achieve stable simulations of DNA crystals. Scientists at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine produced a stable simulation of DNA crystals.
Deoxyribonucleic acid, commonly called DNA, is an indispensable part of every living being. It is a nucleotide that is structurally a long chain that contains genetic prints used in the growth as well as the functioning of lifeforms and some viruses. These genetic printed nucleic acids then intertwine with one another to form the framed double helix.
DNA crystals are grown so that their three-dimensional structures might help in studying X-ray diffraction. DNA crystals are formed when a double helix is suspended in an evaporating liquid. They grow in patterns according to the information stored within the strands. And when seen in cross-polarized light, they display a mind-bending kaleidoscope of color and shape.
The first to benefit from this study is the community of biophysicists and computational physicists/chemists, who now have a reference and clear protocols through which to achieve stable simulations of DNA crystals – Pablo D. Dans, a postdoctoral researcher at IRB Barcelona
The breakthrough has enabled scientists to explain how necessary the chemical additives used for experiments suitable and stable crystals in the laboratory are. The study conducted by IRB has been supported and funded by the European Research Council led by Modesto Orozco, head of the Molecular Modeling and Bioinformatics lab. The study, however, makes a detailed review of the atomic properties of DNA crystals.
