DNA dynamics can only be understood by taking into account its complex mechanical
behavior at different length scales. At the micrometer level, the mechanical properties of …

Phase separation of biological molecules, such as nucleic acids and proteins, has garnered
widespread attention across many fields in recent years. For instance, liquid-liquid phase …

Eukaryotic cells must fit meters of DNA into micron-sized cell nuclei and, at the same time,
control and modulate the access to the genetic material. The necessary amount of DNA …

Understanding the function of eukaryotic genomes, including the human genome, is
undoubtedly one of the major scientific challenges of the 21st century. The cornerstone of …

DNA molecules with a total length of two meters contain the genetic information in every cell
in our body. To control access to the genes, to organize its spatial structure in the nucleus …

Transcription factors (TF) require access to target sites within nucleosomes to initiate
transcription. The target site position within the nucleosome significantly influences TF …

Nucleosomes are fundamental units of chromatin compaction, which organize∼ 200 DNA
base pairs using an octamer of histone proteins. Their ubiquitous presence in the cell …

The sequence-dependent statistical mechanics of double-stranded nucleic acid, or dsNA, is
believed to be essential in its biological functions. In turn, the equilibrium statistical …

The CRISPR-associated endonuclease Cas9 derived from prokaryotes is used as a genome
editing, which targets specific genomic loci by single guide RNAs (sgRNAs). The …

Despite the symmetrical structure of nucleosomes, in vitro studies have shown that
transcription proceeds with different efficiency depending on the orientation of the DNA …