How the Body Packs Two Meters of DNA Into a Six-Micron Cell Nucleus
I can't seem to manage to keep my iPod in my bag for a day without creating an awful tangle of headphones, but my body's cells can work with two meters of stringy DNA into a tiny nucleus without making a knot. The secret is a structure called a fractal globule, according to a research paper to be published tomorrow in the journal Science. First, the researchers found that a cell's DNA is organized in two compartments: an "off" area and an "on" area. Genes that aren't being used are tightly packed into the globule that acts like a filing cabinet, storing lots of info for later use. Genes that are currently being used are all together in a second area, where enzymes can access their sequences. Genes snake back and forth between the compartments as they're turned on and off. But how does that happen...