| Date | 29th, Jun 2021 |
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image: Artist's impression of DNA polymer transport through a nanopore view more
Credit: Kaikai Chen
A new technique established by a team of researchers from the University of Cambridge and the University of Massachusetts reveals the fundamental physics of how a polymer such as DNA threads through holes 10,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.
Polymers are long, chain-like molecules which are everywhere in biology. DNA and RNA are polymers formed by many consecutive copies of nucleotides coupled together. When being transported within or between cells, these biological polymers must pass through nanometre-sized holes called "nanopores".
This process also underlies a rapidly developing method for analysing and sequencing DNA called nanopore sensing.
The study, published in the journal
