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Article Dans Une Revue Journal of Biosciences Année : 2007

Z-DNA: when nature is not opportunistic

Résumé

The strange fate of Z-DNA raises interesting historical issues. The fi rst concerns the relation between structure and function, a hallmark of molecular biology, in which the structure of macromolecules explains their function. What happens when the determination of the structure precedes the characterization of the potential functions it could fulfi l? This new structure, and its potential roles, fi tted quite well with the expectations of the numerous researchers working on the regulation of gene transcription in those years. But the expectations may have been an illusion, supported by an overly opportunistic vision of nature in which what is possible and what exists have a (too) strong tendency to coincide.

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Dates et versions

halshs-00791758 , version 1 (21-02-2013)

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  • HAL Id : halshs-00791758 , version 1

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Michel Morange. Z-DNA: when nature is not opportunistic. Journal of Biosciences, 2007, 32 (4), pp.657-661. ⟨halshs-00791758⟩
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