2011 National DNA Day Online Chatroom Transcript

This is just one question from an archive of the National DNA Day Moderated Chat held in April 2011. The NHGRI Director and many genomics experts from across NHGRI took questions from students, teachers and the general public on topics ranging from basic genomic research, to the genetic basis of disease, to ethical questions about genetic privacy.

---

95

How did Rosalind Franklin suspend a single strand (or did she?) of DNA to photograph via X-ray diffraction?      Pam Schwartzberg, M.D., Ph.D.: I currently study mouse models of primary immunodeficiencies (genetic diseases that impair the ability of the immune system to fight infections) and how specific disorders affect responses to infectious diseases. She probably used DNA that was in a crystal for X-ray crystallography. The crystals hold the molecules in a stable structure so that the X-rays can be diffracted by the molecules and reveal the information to determine the structure. The Children's Home of Reading in PA (teacher)

---

< View ALL questions and answers from 2011

Or, search the 2011 transcript by keyword:
(short, single keywords work best at first)