First shot of a DNA image

59 years after James Watson and Francis Crick deduced the double helix structure of DNA, a first-time scientist in the world directly captured the "twisted ladder" of life.

The first direct photograph of DNA by Enzo Di Fabrizio, a professor of physics from Magna Graecia University in Catanzaro, Italy, is done using an electron microscope.

Previously, scientists could only observe the structure of DNA indirectly. The double-helix form of DNA was first discovered by a technique called X-ray crystallography, in which the shape of a material is reconstructed based on the bounce of the following X-ray rays. when they collide with that material.

The double helix structure of DNA was first captured
Direct photo thanks to an electron microscope. (Photo: Live Science)

According to Live Science, Professor Di Fabrizio and colleagues planned to force DNA to be exposed directly. They built a nanoscale model, including a multitude of extremely good waterproof silicon pillars. When the team added a solution containing DNA sequences into the model, the water quickly evaporated and left each DNA stretched as stretches between tiny flat peaks.

The team then shone electron beams through holes in the silicon bed and took high-resolution images of illuminated molecules.

The photos of Di Fabrizio group actually showed a band of countless intertwined DNA molecules, as opposed to just two complementary sequences. This is because the energy of the electrons is used enough to destroy an isolated double helix or a string in the double helix.

A bundle of DNA lies across two silicon cylinders. (Photo: Live Science)

However, speaking on New Scientist, Professor Di Fabrizio said, by using more sensitive devices and lower energy electrons, scientists could soon capture the full image of the double helix. ADN.

DNA molecules or Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid carry genetic information encoded for the growth and development of all living organisms. The results of the team led by Di Fabrizio will allow scientists to observe the dynamic interactions between DNA and some other essential components of life, such as RNA.

The results of Professor Di Fabrizio's work have been published in NanoLetters.