Hasta La Gadget!

Knot theory hasn’t been the only unexpected math to pop up during DNA research. Scientists have used Venn diagrams to study DNA, and the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. The architecture of DNA shows traces of the “golden ratio” of length to width found in classical edifices like the Parthenon. Geometry enthusiasts have twisted DNA into möbius strips and constructed the five Platonic solids. Cell biologists now realize that, to even fit inside the nucleus, long, stringy DNA must fold and refold itself into a fractal pattern of loops within loops within loops, a pattern where it becomes nearly impossible to tell what scale – nano-, micro-, or millimeter – you’re looking at. More »