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Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Getting the latest healthcare news for you
It's not just what's in your DNA — it's how it moves. An international team of researchers has conducted one of the largest-ever studies of DNA's physical properties, revealing that the molecule's shape and flexibility play a key role in gene regulation. Their findings suggest evolution favors mutations that preserve DNA's mechanical stability, not just its genetic information.
Most people know DNA as the molecule that carries genetic instructions — but it turns out the physical properties of DNA matter just as much as the sequence itself. An international research team, including scientists from Kaunas University of Technology, used large-scale atomistic simulations to study how DNA's shape, flexibility, and movement vary across thousands of different sequences. Their work, published in Nature Communications, is among the most detailed analyses of DNA's physical code ever conducted.
The team simulated all 4,096 possible six-nucleotide sequences, embedding them into 190 longer DNA fragments and running calculations on hundreds of computers across Europe and the U.S. for several months. A key insight: proteins that regulate gene activity don't just recognize specific nucleotide sequences — they also "read" the 3D shape and flexibility of DNA, which affects which genes get turned on or off.
Key Takeaways:
Why it matters: Understanding DNA's physical code could unlock new approaches to treating diseases linked to gene regulation, and improve how scientists model DNA in drug development and biotechnology.
