21Sep 2022 by Nigel Fleming No Comments
linkedin post 2021-05-29 03:38:51

linkedin post 2021-05-29 03:38:51

Uncategorized
THE MANTRA. “One assumption was that the structure was perfectly regular with an asymmetric unit consisting of one nucleotide. However, the agreement was reasonable and this led to the general adoption of the right-handed B-DNA conformation as the predominant form in biological systems.” https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-94-009-7052-6.pdf View in LinkedIn
Read More
21Sep 2022 by Nigel Fleming No Comments
linkedin post 2021-05-29 03:37:17

linkedin post 2021-05-29 03:37:17

Uncategorized
SLOPPY DATA. “It was obvious to workers in the field, however, that although DNA fiber analysis generated physical data in agreement with the Watson-Crick structure, they did not unambiguously prove the structure.” https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-94-009-7052-6.pdf View in LinkedIn
Read More
21Sep 2022 by Nigel Fleming No Comments
linkedin post 2021-05-29 03:35:20

linkedin post 2021-05-29 03:35:20

Uncategorized
DEXTROROTATORY MODIFICATION. “Efforts spanning over a decade produced a great deal of experimental evidence which in essence stated that it was possible to modify the initial Watson-Crick right-handed helix in a number of details so that one could produce a model consistent with the experimental X-ray data.” https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-94-009-7052-6.pdf View in LinkedIn
Read More
21Sep 2022 by Nigel Fleming No Comments
linkedin post 2021-05-29 03:34:28

linkedin post 2021-05-29 03:34:28

Uncategorized
CHIRALITY. “DNA can have both right-handed and left-handed double helical conformations. This idea has old roots and was considered shortly after the formulation of the double helix by Watson and Crick in 1953.” https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-94-009-7052-6.pdf View in LinkedIn
Read More
21Sep 2022 by Nigel Fleming No Comments

linkedin post 2021-05-29 03:32:50

Uncategorized
ALEXANDER RICH “had a long and fertile career at MIT working on the relationship between the molecular structure and the function of biological information molecules DNA and RNA. Rich is perhaps best known for the elucidation of the three-dimensional structure of a transfer RNA molecule, and for the discovery of an alternative form of DNA that exists in certain biological contexts, known as Z-DNA.” Charming photo. https://lnkd.in/d_NxPpN View in LinkedIn
Read More
21Sep 2022 by Nigel Fleming No Comments
linkedin post 2021-05-30 05:32:38

linkedin post 2021-05-30 05:32:38

Uncategorized
TECHNICAL LIMITATION. “In the face of suggestions of this type, it was clear that the fiber diffraction studies with their limited information content could no longer be responsive to the question of what detailed conformations DNA is capable of accommodating.” https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-94-009-7052-6.pdf View in LinkedIn
Read More
21Sep 2022 by Nigel Fleming No Comments

linkedin post 2021-05-29 03:29:31

Uncategorized
FRAGMENT FROM NATURE this and next weekend features a 1982 article by Professor Alexander Rich of MIT on left-handed DNA, and how the early debate about DNA handedness was effectively resolved by better techniques. This is, in part, a historical note, in another part, a fresh look at the most influential molecule of the modern era of biochemistry. Fascinatingly, this textbook was published in typewriter font. https://lnkd.in/dadvE8B View in LinkedIn
Read More