First explore the electrical structure of DNA

Using a combination of low-temperature measurement technology and theoretical calculations, scientists at Jerusalem Jewish University and colleagues pioneered in finding the electrical structure of each DNA molecule.

Understanding electrical properties of DNA is a problem in many areas of science such as biochemistry to nanotechnology - for example in the study of DNA synthesis due to ultraviolet radiation forming generation of radicals. due to and mutation of genes. In these cases, DNA automatically heals through the process of charging along the DNA helix and restoring broken molecular bonds.

In the field of nano-bioelectricity, an advanced field of study specializing in biological molecules (for example, to produce electric nanowires) is thought to be DNA or its derivatives, possibly used as molecular conductor to realize smaller, more efficient molecular computer networks than the current material using silicon technology.

Researchers said the knowledge gained in the project may be related to current efforts to develop new ways to decode complex, reliable, faster and cheaper DNA sequences.

In their work, scientists can decipher the electrical structure of DNA and understand how electrons distributed to different places belong to double helices. For many years scientists have learned about this possibility but always have technical difficulties.

The project finally achieved this achievement thanks to the combination of hypothesis and experimentation. The scientists carried out long and homogeneous DNA molecules at a temperature of -195 ^° C with a tube scanning microscope (STM) to measure the current flowing across a molecule mounted on a gold background. Then, by calculating the hypothesis of using the answer of quantum equations, they found the electrical structure of DNA compatible with the experimental current. These results also help identify parts of the double helix that contribute to the formation of currents along the molecules.