The sounds of the DNA

[HydrogenBond]

If you look at the DNA double helix, the double helix is held together by base pairing. The result is a binary langauge, similar to the morse code, with dots and dashes, so to speak. As we move our way along the DNA double helix the binary coding tells us the nature of the genes. The starter regions of genes have a lot of dots near the beginning and a lot of dashes near the end, to help identify start and stop places on the genes. These sounds are specific to the unpacking enzymes, who use this prompt.

 

The DNA double helix not only has a binary language, but this binary language can also change pitch, depending on its environment. The way this can be understood is to look at the bases between the base pairs. These molecules have ring structures that can display resonance.

 

To explain resonance, the easiest molecule to see is benzene. It is has six CH that form a ring. It has three double bonds and three single bonds. The double and single bonds switch back and forth. The resonance sort of reflects this going backing and forth, so it looks like all have 1.5 bonds.

 

The bases of the nuclei acids, that base pair in the DNA, are much more complicated such that their resonance structures have more variety due to two rings and the various side groups that in the ring structure. Consider this scenario, say the DNA was in an environment where the hydrogen bonding would like to separate. Because the double helix prevents this separation, due to steric hindrance trying to unwind the double, the hydrogen bonds remain but in an energized state.

 

Without steric hindrance, the hydrogen bonds would break and this zone of the DNA would separate. But because of the steric hindrance they need to stay but remain in higher energy state, with no place to go. What happens is the resonance structures of the bases shift to help will express the higher energy state. In this case, the resonance voice of the binary song gets a higher pitch. It is singing out to the enzymes," unpack me, I need to be unpacked".

 

The resonance structures of the bases allows enough configurations, where it can form the many pitches needed to tell whether the DNA double helix is packed, how much packing, whether it needs to unpack, etc. The DNA double helix sings its binary song with a variety of pitches, so the cell can know where each gene is at any given time.

[Queso]

and it looks like two sine waves in perfect phase

[questor]

An interesting post. Who wrote the ''song'' and at what particulate level does this song originate?