"First, we learned that DNA is a molecule: a nucleic acid.
Then we learned that it is a double helix.
Then we learned that its 2-D sequence of nucleotides is
informational: it codes for genes.
Then we learned that DNA is not haphazardly stuffed into the nucleus: it’s a 3-D information system — a genome, with a shape related to its function.
Then we learned that the genome is accompanied by a plethora of molecular machines and regulators, comprising an interactome.
Then we learned that the shape DNA takes on in the nucleus has an architecture: it folds into topological domains and functional compartments. The interactome became a nucleome.
Now, DNA has entered the fourth dimension: it is a dynamic architecture, constantly reconfiguring itself in functional ways with the aid of a multitude of molecular machines in dizzying motions and interactions. A factory in a cathedral could hardly compare. For the final dose of awe, consider that the molecular machines that operate on DNA are coded in DNA! Gone is the Central Dogma. Gone is the myth of Junk DNA."
CEH
