The channel that relaxes DNA

Relaxing DNA strands by using nano-channels: Instructions for use

2014-08-20

(Press-News.org) VIDEO: This is a model DNA chain inside a nanochannel that is 100nm wide. The spontaneous dynamical evolution of the DNA is accompanied by frequent knotting and entanglement at the chain ends....
Click here for more information.

With the widespread use of methods for DNA analysis and manipulation, it's certainly useful to find a way to unravel and relax the strands of this molecule that tends to form tangles spontaneously. One way is to use channels, or rather nano-channels, as Cristian Micheletti, SISSA research scientist, and Enzo Orlandini, of Padua University, did in a study just published in the journal Macro Letters.

VIDEO: This is a model DNA chain inside a nanochannel that is 100nm wide. The spontaneous dynamical evolution of the DNA is accompanied by frequent knotting and entanglement at the chain ends....
Click here for more information.

The idea is to force the DNA into the channel so as to relax it completely. "But not just any channel will do," explains Micheletti. "Depending on the diameter of the nano-channel, the strand extremities can arrange into hook-like structures that will end up forming a knot". "In our study we used simulation techniques to characterise the mechanisms leading to knot formation as a function of the diameter of the channel", Micheletti continues.

The result? "Below 50 nanometres in diameter the tendency to form knots decreases dramatically". Thanks to these observations it is possible to design channels having the ideal characteristics for achieving a nicely stretched out DNA strand, free of the entanglements that can hinder many methods for genetic analysis. INFORMATION:

[Attachments] See images for this press release:

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Test reliably detects inherited immune deficiency in newborns

2014-08-20

A newborn screening test for severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) reliably identifies infants with this life-threatening inherited condition, leading to prompt treatment and high survival rates, according to a study supported by the National Institutes of Health. Researchers led by Jennifer Puck, M.D., of the University of California, San Francisco, also found that SCID affects approximately 1 in 58,000 newborns, indicating that the disorder is less rare than previously thought. The study was funded in part by NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases ...

Mums trust mums on the net: Australian study

2014-08-20

Facebook groups for mothers are overtaking the traditional mums-and-bubs and playgroup environments as a source of trusted advice, and offers a largely untapped marketing tool for businesses wanting to sell their products, an Australian study has found. QUT educationalist Dr Rebecca English and marketing expert Dr Raechel Johns from the University of Canberra said word-of-mouth in mothers' groups and communities had fast become a major influence in mothers' buying habits. The study, Mothers' influencing mothers: the use of virtual discussion boards and their influence ...

Sunblock poses potential hazard to sea life

2014-08-20

The sweet and salty aroma of sunscreen and seawater signals a relaxing trip to the shore. But scientists are now reporting that the idyllic beach vacation comes with an environmental hitch. When certain sunblock ingredients wash off skin and into the sea, they can become toxic to some of the ocean's tiniest inhabitants, which are the main course for many other marine animals. Their study appears in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology. Antonio Tovar-Sanchez and David Sánchez-Quiles point out that other than staying indoors, slathering on sunscreen is currently ...

Diabetes calculator helps identify A&E patients at risk of disease

2014-08-20

A new online tool will help doctors predict which patients are most likely to develop diabetes. The calculator will help doctors identify high risk patients so that they can be tested for the disease and offered lifestyle advice. The test is targeted at people who have been admitted to hospital for emergency care. Experts say it could offer a cost-effective way to identify people with diabetes in Scotland as it avoids the need for significant investment in screening. The test calculates a person's risk of developing diabetes over the next three years based on their ...

Seeing a molecule breathe

2014-08-20

For the first time, chemists have succeeded in measuring vibrational motion of a single molecule with a femtosecond time resolution. The study reveals how vibration of a single molecule differs from the behaviour of larger molecular groups. The study was performed at the University of California, Irvine, where post-doctoral researcher Eero Hulkko from the University of Jyväskylä works as a visiting fellow under professor Vartkess A. Apkarian, whose team participated in the study. The second team was lead by Professor Eric O. Potma. The results of the study made the cover ...

Treating pain by blocking the 'chili-pepper receptor'

2014-08-20

Biting into a chili pepper causes a burning spiciness that is irresistible to some, but intolerable to others. Scientists exploring the chili pepper's effect are using their findings to develop a new drug candidate for many kinds of pain, which can be caused by inflammation or other problems. They reported their progress on the compound, which is being tested in clinical trials, in ACS' Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. Laykea Tafesse and colleagues explain that decades ago, scientists had pegged a compound called capsaicin as the active ingredient in chili peppers that ...

USC Eye Institute study finds African-Americans at higher risk for diabetic vision loss

2014-08-20

LOS ANGELES — Research by Keck Medicine of USC ophthalmology scientists demonstrates that African Americans bear heavier burden of diabetic macular edema (DME), one of the leading causes of blindness in diabetic patients in the United States. The research published online today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Ophthalmology, indicates a higher burden of diabetes-related vision loss among certain ethnic populations because of problems with access to care, said corresponding author Rohit Varma, M.D., M.P.H., director of the USC Eye Institute and ...

The changing landscape of religion

2014-08-20

Religion is a key factor in demography, important for projections of future population growth as well as for other social indicators. A new journal, Yearbook of International Religious Demography, is the first to bring a quantitative demographic focus to the study of religion. The journal is co-edited by IIASA researcher Vegard Skirbekk, an expert in the field of religious demography. The first edition of the journal includes three studies by IIASA researchers: Vienna: Growing diversity in religion and ethnicity The city of Vienna is growing increasingly diverse in both ...

Vanderbilt researchers find that coronary arteries hold heart-regenerating cells

2014-08-20

Endothelial cells residing in the coronary arteries can function as cardiac stem cells to produce new heart muscle tissue, Vanderbilt University investigators have discovered. The findings, published recently in Cell Reports, offer insights into how the heart maintains itself and could lead to new strategies for repairing the heart when it fails after a heart attack. The heart has long been considered to be an organ without regenerative potential, said Antonis Hatzopoulos, Ph.D., associate professor of Medicine and Cell and Developmental Biology. "People thought ...

The power of salt

2014-08-20

Where the river meets the sea, there is the potential to harness a significant amount of renewable energy, according to a team of mechanical engineers at MIT. The researchers evaluated an emerging method of power generation called pressure retarded osmosis (PRO), in which two streams of different salinity are mixed to produce energy. In principle, a PRO system would take in river water and seawater on either side of a semi-permeable membrane. Through osmosis, water from the less-salty stream would cross the membrane to a pre-pressurized saltier side, creating a flow ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

World’s leading science competition identifies 19 breakthrough solutions around the globe with greatest potential to tackle the planetary crisis

Meta-analysis finds Transcendental Meditation reduces post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms across populations and cultures

AACR: Five MD Anderson researchers honored with 2025 Scientific Achievement Awards

How not to form a state: Research reveals how imbalanced social-ecological acceleration led to collapse in early medieval Europe

DDT residues persist in trout in some Canadian lakes 70 years after insecticide treatment, often at levels ten times that recommended as safe for the wildlife which consumes the fish