Ions surround nucleic acids in what is referred to as an ion atmosphere. As a result, the
folding and dynamics of RNA and DNA and their complexes with proteins and with each …

Double‐stranded (ds) RNA has diverse roles in gene expression and regulation, host
defense, and genome surveillance in bacterial and eukaryotic cells. A central aspect of …

Dynamic RNA molecules carry out essential processes in the cell including translation and
splicing. Base-pair interactions stabilize RNA into relatively rigid structures, while flexible …

Background When large RNAs fold into compact structures, negatively charged phosphate
groups are brought into close proximity. Compaction of RNA requires inorganic cations and …

Charges on biological polymers in physiologically relevant solution conditions are strongly
screened by water and salt solutions containing counter-ions. However, the entropy of these …

In this perspective article, we focus on recent developments in the theory of charge effects in
biological DNA-related systems. The electrostatic effects on different levels of DNA …

Nearest neighbor parameters for estimating the folding stability of RNA secondary structures
are in widespread use. For helices, current parameters penalize terminal AU base pairs …

Cancer is an extremely complex disease, typically caused by mutations in cancer-critical
genes. By delivering therapeutic nucleic acids (NAs) to patients, gene therapy offers the …

The ionic atmosphere around nucleic acids remains only partially understood at atomic-level
detail. Ion counting (IC) experiments provide a quantitative measure of the ionic atmosphere …

The concept of “ion atmosphere” is prevalent in both theoretical and experimental studies of
nucleic acid systems, yet the spatial arrangement and the composition of ions in the ion …