With the help of physics and micro magnets, researchers have discovered a new structure of telomere DNA. Telomeres are considered the key to longevity. They protect genes from damage, but they become shorter each time a cell divides. If they get too short, the cells die. Today's new findings will help to understand aging and disease. The results were recently published in the journal Nature. In every cell of the human body, there are chromosomes that carry genes that determine human characteristics. The ends of these chromosomes are telomeres, which can protect chromosomes from damage. They are a bit like the plastic ends of shoelaces. The DNA between telomeres is two meters long, so it must be folded to fit the cell. This is achieved by wrapping DNA on protein. DNA and protein together are called nucleosomes, which are arranged like a string of beads. This string of beads will be folded more. How it does this depends on the length of DNA between nucleosomes, that is, the beads on the string. The two structures that appear after folding are known. One is where two adjacent beads stick together and free DNA hangs between them. However, if the DNA fragments between beads are short, the adjacent beads will not stick together, and the two beads will be stacked side by side to form the second structure. Combining electron microscopy and molecular force spectroscopy, researchers at Leiden Institute of Physics in the Netherlands found another telomere structure. Here, the nucleosomes are closer together, so there is no free DNA between the beads. This will eventually produce a large DNA helix. Molecular force spectroscopy attaches one end of DNA to the slide, while the other end is attached to a tiny magnetic ball. Then a group of strong magnets above the ball will pull the "pearl string" apart. By measuring the force required to pull the beads apart one by one, you can learn more about how the "rope" folds. Researchers said that if we know the molecular structure, we can better understand how genes are turned on and off, and how enzymes in cells process telomeres, such as how they repair and copy DNA. The discovery of new telomere structure will improve people's understanding of body components, which will eventually help people to study diseases such as aging and cancer, and develop drugs to combat them. (Outlook New Times)
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Source：People.cn
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