Quadruple-Helix DNA Is a Thing
Curiosity Weekly
Warner Bros. Discovery
4.6 • 964 Ratings
🗓️ 4 March 2021
⏱️ 13 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Learn about how quadruple-helix DNA could help us fight cancer; how diversity improves technology, with materials scientist Ainissa Ramirez; and how cats domesticated themselves.
Quadruple-helix DNA exists - and it might be useful for fighting cancers by Cameron Duke
- Rare quadruple-helix DNA found in living human cells with glowing probes. (2021). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-01/icl-rqd011321.php
- Researchers Observe Formation of Four-Stranded DNA in Living Human Cells | Biology, Genetics | Sci-News.com. (2020). Breaking Science News | Sci-News.com. http://www.sci-news.com/biology/dna-g-quadruplexes-human-cells-08693.html
- Scientists Discover Quadruple Helix DNA in Human Cells | Genetics | Sci-News.com. (2013). Breaking Science News | Sci-News.com. http://www.sci-news.com/genetics/article00835.html
- Summers, P. A., Lewis, B. W., Gonzalez-Garcia, J., Porreca, R. M., Lim, A. H. M., Cadinu, P., Martin-Pintado, N., Mann, D. J., Edel, J. B., Vannier, J. B., Kuimova, M. K., & Vilar, R. (2021). Visualising G-quadruplex DNA dynamics in live cells by fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy. Nature Communications, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20414-7
Additional resources from Ainissa Ramirez:
- Pick up "The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another" on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2MyB4l8
- Ainissa's website: https://www.ainissaramirez.com/
- Ainissa Ramirez on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ainissaramirez
In True Feline Fashion, Cats Domesticated Themselves by Anna Todd
- Ottoni, C., et. al. (2017). The palaeogenetics of cat dispersal in the ancient world. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 1(7). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0139
- Smith, C. (2017, June 19). Cats Domesticated Themselves, Ancient DNA Shows. National Geographic News. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/06/domesticated-cats-dna-genetics-pets-science/
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, you're about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from |
| 0:04.9 | Curiosity.com. I'm Cody Goff. And I'm Ashley Hamer. Today you learn about how |
| 0:09.3 | quadruple Helix DNA could help us fight cancer, how diversity improves technology with |
| 0:14.8 | material scientist Anisa Ramirez, and how cats domesticated themselves. |
| 0:20.0 | Let's satisfy some curiosity. |
| 0:26.6 | In school, you probably learned that DNA is a double helix. You know, that spiral ladder structure where the rungs are the A's, T's, C's, and G's |
| 0:31.6 | that code for all your traits? |
| 0:33.0 | That by itself is really impressive. |
| 0:36.0 | But guess what? |
| 0:38.0 | Quadruple Helix DNA also exists. |
| 0:40.0 | And understanding exactly what it does might help us fight cancer. |
| 0:45.0 | Scientists have known about quadruple helix DNA since the 1960s, |
| 0:49.0 | but it wasn't until 2013 that a group of scientists first identified quadruple helix DNA in human cells. |
| 0:57.0 | Quadruple helix DNA mostly happens in sequences that are rich in G basis, that G stands for Guonine. While G bases can form pairs with A, T and C bases, |
| 1:08.3 | it likes to form quartets with other G bases. Stacks of these quartets are what form quadruple helix DNA, which is why these |
| 1:18.0 | DNA strands are also called G quadriplexes. Not only does it sound cool, but 4G was already taken anyway. |
| 1:26.0 | Scientists don't know exactly what G quadriplexes do, but they are 100% confident that they don't turn you into the Hulk. |
| 1:35.0 | They know that because while G quadriplexes are rare, |
| 1:38.0 | they seem to form in human cells normally as the cells divide. |
| 1:42.0 | Learning about this is not just absurd. normally as the cells divide. |
| 1:47.0 | Learning about this is not just obscure theoretical work either. Getting a grasp on the functions of G quadriplexes |
| 1:50.0 | might take our understanding of cancers to new levels. |
... |
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