The human genome takes shape and shifts over time
DNA twists and turns into interacting sections that determine what a cell does and when
THE SHIFTING NUCLEAR TERRAIN Within the nucleus, as in this artist’s rendering, the genome coils around proteins and packs into a cell-specific architecture.
Mary Ellen Scherl
If you could unravel all the DNA in a single human cell and stretch it out, you’d have a molecular ribbon about 2 meters long and 2 nanometers across. Now imagine packing it all back into the cell’s nucleus, a container only 5 to 10 micrometers wide.