Quiet debut for the double helix

Past discoveries usually become aggrandized in retrospect, especially at jubilee celebrations, and the double helix is no exception. The historical record reveals a muted response by the scientific community to the proposal of this structure in 1953. Indeed, it was only when the outlines appeared of a mechanism for DNA's involvement in protein synthesis that the biochemical community began to take a serious interest in the structure.     

'Z-RNA'--a left-handed RNA double helix

In contrast to double-stranded DNA, there has so far been little evidence that double-stranded RNA can undergo major conformational transitions. We have investigated the conformation in different conditions of the double-stranded RNA molecule poly(G-C).poly(G-C), by NMR, circular dichroism and absorbance spectroscopy. We report here evidence obtained by these different spectroscopic techniques that poly(G-C).poly(G-C) undergoes a transition from the A-form to a left-handed Z-form in conditions of high ionic strength and at temperatures above 35 degrees C. This conformational transition may be of relevance to the biological situations in which double-stranded RNA occurs, such as in ribosomes and in some viruses.     

The double helix and immunology

The immune system can recognize and produce antibodies to virtually any molecule in the Universe. This enormous diversity arises from the ingenious reshuffling of DNA sequences encoding components of the immune system. Immunology is an example of a field completely transformed during the past 50 years by the discovery of the structure of DNA and the emergence of DNA technologies that followed.     

The double helix and the 'wronged heroine'

In 1962, James Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins received the Nobel prize for the discovery of the structure of DNA. Notably absent from the podium was Rosalind Franklin, whose X-ray photographs of DNA contributed directly to the discovery of the double helix. Franklin's premature death, combined with misogynist treatment by the male scientific establishment, cast her as a feminist icon. This myth overshadowed her intellectual strength and independence both as a scientist and as an individual.     

The double helix in clinical practice

The discovery of the double helix half a century ago has so far been slow to affect medical practice, but significant transformations are likely over the next 50 years. Changes to the way medicine is practised and new doctors are trained will be required before potential benefits are realized.     

Statistical mechanics of supercoils and the torsional stiffness of the DNA double helix.

The distribution of closed unknotted polymer chains over the writhing number is calculated by the Monte-Carlo method. For circular duplex DNA the variance of the distribution equals approximately half the observed variance of equilibrium distribution over the linking number. The balance which arises from fluctuations in DNA twisting makes it possible to estimate the torsional stiffness of the double helix.     

The conformation of the DNA double helix in the crystal is dependent on its environment

Studies of the crystal structures of more than 30 synthetic DNA fragments have provided structural information about three basic forms of the double helix: A-, B- and Z-form DNA. These studies have demonstrated that the DNA double helix adopts a highly variable structure which is related to its base sequence. The extent to which such observed structures are influenced by the crystalline environment can be found by studying the same molecule in different crystalline forms. We have recently crystallized one particular oligomer in various crystal forms. Here we report the results of structural analyses of the different crystal structures and demonstrate that the DNA double helix can adopt a range of conformations in the crystalline state depending on hydration, molecular packing and temperature. These results have implications on our understanding of the influence of the environment on DNA structure, and on the modes of DNA recognition by proteins.     

Local destabilisation of a DNA double helix by a T--T wobble pair.

Nuclear magnetic resonance is a technique which permits direct observation of the Waton--Click hydrogen-bonded ring imino protons (guanine N1H and thymine N3H). As the formation and disruption of hydrogen bonds of double-helical RNA and DNA structures are key events during various biological processes, NMR thus provides a useful tool for studying the fluctuational mobility of the individual base pairs. Indeed, several NMR studies of oligo- and polynucleotides have been carried out to probe the structure and dynamics of nucleic acids in solution (for a review see ref. 1). The present study constitutes the first part of our attempt to assess the influence of non-complementary base pairs on the stability of nucleic acid double helices. We report the spectral assignment and temperature-dependent NMR profiles of the hydrogen-bonded imino protons of the two DNA fragments shown in Fig. 1. The assignment is based solely on experimental grounds using the principle of chemical modification. It will be demonstrated that the introduction of a non-complementary (wobble) base pair in a DNA duplex introduces an extra melting site in addition to the sequential melting which starts with the terminal base pairs in the double helix structure.     

管内插入双螺旋丝强化冷凝换热的实验研究

提出了一种竖直管内加装新型双螺旋丝插入物的方法用以强化水蒸气的凝结换热，并在管内入口蒸汽压力为0．143MPa的工况下，对这种双螺旋丝插入物进行了实验研究．实验结果表明，该插入物对于竖直管内冷凝有明显的强化换热作用．最后对双螺旋丝插入物强化竖直管内凝结换热的机理作了探讨．     

Crystal structure of an RNA double helix incorporating a track of non-Watson-Crick base pairs

The crystal structure of the RNA dodecamer duplex (r-GGACUUCGGUCC)2 has been determined. The dodecamers stack end-to-end in the crystal, simulating infinite A-form helices with only a break in the phosphodiester chain. These infinite helices are held together in the crystal by hydrogen bonding between ribose hydroxyl groups and a variety of donors and acceptors. The four noncomplementary nucleotides in the middle of the sequence did not form an internal loop, but rather a highly regular double-helix incorporating the non-Watson-Crick base pairs, G.U and U.C. This is the first direct observation of a U.C (or T.C) base pair in a crystal structure. The U.C pairs each form only a single base-base hydrogen bond, but are stabilized by a water molecule which bridges between the ring nitrogens and by four waters in the major groove which link the bases and phosphates. The lack of distortion introduced in the double helix by the U.C mismatch may explain its low efficiency of repair in DNA. The G.U wobble pair is also stabilized by a minor-groove water which bridges between the unpaired guanine amino and the ribose hydroxyl of the uracil. This structure emphasizes the importance of specific hydrogen bonding between not only the nucleotide bases, but also the ribose hydroxyls, phosphate oxygens and tightly bound waters in stabilization of the intramolecular and intermolecular structures of double helical RNA.     

叶片宽度比对同心双螺旋静态混合器混合性能的影响

同心双螺旋静态混合器是一种新型的静态混合装置,能够实现流体在混合管内的同心反向螺旋流动。为探究同心双螺旋元件内外叶片宽度比对混合效果的影响规律,利用Fluent中多相流混合模型对低雷诺数状态下该混合器内的混合过程进行了数值模拟,研究结果表明：在较低雷诺数下,同心双螺旋静态混合器与对应尺寸的传统Kenics型混合器相比混合效果明显提升,在叶片宽度比e为0~3/2时混合效果提升6.9%~28%;随着内外叶片宽度比的增大,混合效果呈现先增后减的规律,当e=2/3时混合效果最好;在不同的宽度比下,流体的分离强度沿混合管轴向变化规律相同,即在第一个混合元件内分离强度下降缓慢,第二、三个元件内下降迅速,第四个元件内几乎保持不变而处于维持混合状态,说明本文所研究的混合器使用较少的混合元件即可达到较好的混合效果。