Researchers explain process by which cells 'hide' potentially dangerous DNA segments
Thursday, April 9, 2009 - 15:14
in Biology & Nature
The DNA in the 23 pairs of chromosomes in each of the billions of cells of the human body is so tightly packed that it would measure six feet in length if stretched end to end. A genome of this size can squeeze into a cell's tiny nucleus because it is compressed into highly condensed chromatin fibers by proteins called histones.