Inside cells, DNA is under/overtwisted, resulting in the formation of 'supercoiled' loops, resembling what can happen to long cords or garden hoses in our homes." In contrast with relaxed DNA ...

Traits as diverse as the color of a person's eyes and the scent of a rose are determined by the information contained in DNA. Learn how this information is coded by strings of molecules called ...

Mertz’s interests lay in the latter of these two projects. The scientific community knew little about SV40 or its supercoiled circular DNA at the time. Therefore, Mertz began a side project looking at ...

DNA gyrase operates like a tiny molecular machine, carefully twisting and stabilising bacterial DNA. This twisting, known as supercoiling, is similar to winding an elastic band: as it twists, it ...