Double Helix (Noun)
Meaning
A pair of parallel helices intertwined about a common axis; "the shape of the DNA molecule is a double helix".
Classification
Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes.
Examples
- The double helix structure of DNA is held together by hydrogen bonds between the base pairs.
- In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick described the double helix structure of DNA using X-ray crystallography data.
- The double helix model of DNA shows how the molecule replicates itself by unwinding and reforming into two identical copies.
- The double helix structure of DNA is a twisted ladder with sugar and phosphate molecules forming the backbone and nitrogenous bases forming the rungs.
- Understanding the double helix structure of DNA has led to significant advances in genetics, biotechnology, and molecular biology.