New Theory of Polymer Length Provides Improved Estimates of DNA and RNA Size
Tuesday, August 1, 2017 - 11:52
in Physics & Chemistry
Since the seminal work of Paul Flory, researchers have developed various formulas for calculating distance between the ends of a curved polymer. However, these formulas have typically failed to consider the stretchiness of the molecule. In a new study, published this week in The Journal of Chemical Physics, scientists have derived a formula to determine the end-to-end distance of a semiflexible polymer, including DNA or RNA, while taking into account how much the polymer stretches.