DNA Shows Alternate Form

Laboratory Equipment - DNA Shows Alternate Form: "DNA, that marvelous, twisty molecule of life, has an alter ego, research at the Univ. of Michigan and the Univ. of California, Irvine reveals.

On rare occasions, its building blocks 'rock and roll,' deforming the familiar double helix into a different shape.

'We show that the simple DNA double helix exists in an alternative form— for one percent of the time— and that this alternative form is functional,' says Hashim Al-Hashimi, professor of Chemistry at U-M. 'Together, these data suggest that there are multiple layers of information stored in the genetic code.' The findings were published online in the journal Nature."