Molecular Visualizations of DNA

A great animation of DNA at a molecular level. The video shows how DNA is packed into chromosomes and how it is replicated (they should have done replication first because it's only then that chromosomes develop, just prior to cell division). The video goes on to describe the transcription of DNA to RNA and the translation of RNA into protein.

As it's such a short video, aspects like the control of gene expression and the post-transcriptional modification of RNA (splicing) are missed out, along with many other factors and nuances. I guess the 'scorpions tail thing' at 3:36 is the promoter region, it's in about the right place upstream.

Nothing in biology is as simple as it looks, but this is a good effort to explain basic priciples.

Molecular Visualizations of DNA [7:47]


Right at the end it sadly peters out. It's as if they were going to talk about sickle cell anaemia, which is caused by a mutation in the gene for haemoglobin, but they never finished the film.