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Packed with Precision
22 November 2013

Packed with Precision

Unravel the DNA from a single cell in your body and it would stretch from your head to your feet. This string of genetic information is coiled and folded so precisely that sequences of genes, from various points along its length, are carefully distributed on the 46 chromosomes that determine how our bodies work and look. Recent advances in a technique called chromosome conformation capture – in which DNA is treated with chemicals so that distances between parts of the strand can be calculated – have enabled scientists to model the structure of chromosomes in 3D with greater accuracy than ever before. This is important to help understand how our genes work and why things sometimes go wrong. Pictured is a computer generated image (CGI) of the human X chromosome, with colours from red to blue representing increasing depth at which the component parts are buried in the complex structure.

Written by Mick Warwicker

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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