DNA's iconic double helix does more than "just" store genetic information. Under certain conditions it can temporarily fold into unusual shapes. Researchers at Umeå University, Sweden, have now shown ...

New work from UC Davis and the University of Utah shows how the 3D structure of DNA inside a germ cell commits it to develop into a sperm cell. The discovery could improve understanding of fertility ...

A fleeting DNA fold called i‑DNA can switch cancer‑related genes on and off, revealing a hidden structural weak point that ...

For decades, scientists viewed the genome of a newly fertilized egg as a structural "blank slate"—a disordered tangle of DNA ...

Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have created a new molecule which carries DNA into biological cells, to treat or vaccinate against illnesses. Many existing options rely on molecules ...

For decades, scientists believed a fertilized egg’s DNA began as a shapeless mass, only organizing itself once the embryo switched on its genes. But new research reveals that the genome is already ...

The human genome has to be carefully organized so it will fit inside of the nuclei of cells, while also remaining accessible to the cellular machinery that works to express the right genes at the ...

Getting DNA into a living cell sounds simple, until you remember the cell’s outer membrane acts like a guarded wall. DNA strands carry a negative charge, and they do not cross that wall easily. So for ...