First observation of the folding of a nucleic acid
The prediction of the structure and function of biological macromolecules (i.e., the machinery of life) is of foremost importance in the field of structural biology. Since the elucidation of the three-dimensional structure of DNA (the molecule that carries all genetic information) by Watson and Crick, scientists have strived to decipher the hidden code that determines the evolution of the spatial arrangement of these molecules towards their functional native state. Attempts to follow these structural transitions experimentally and with atomic resolution are hampered by the ultra-fast nature of the folding process. To date, the characterisation of these processes by pure computational means has also been very challenging, since monitoring the folding of nucleic acid with realistic methods requires years of computing time in a regular PC...