double helix

noun

, Biochemistry, Genetics.

1. the spiral arrangement of the two complementary strands of DNA.

double helix

noun

1. biochem the form of the molecular structure of DNA, consisting of two helical polynucleotide chains linked by hydrogen bonds and coiled around the same axis

double helix

1. The three-dimensional structure of double-stranded DNA, in which polymeric nucleotide strands whose complementary nitrogen bases are linked by hydrogen bonds form a helical configuration. The two DNA strands are oriented in opposite directions.

double helix

1. The shape taken by the DNA molecule . A helix is a three-dimensional spiral, like the shape of a spring or the railing on a spiral staircase. A DNA molecule consists of two helixes intertwined.

Word History and Origins

Origin of double helix¹

First recorded in 1953; term introduced by J.D. Watson and F.H.C. Crick

Example Sentences

More than seven decades later, mathematician Robert Monjo believes he has discovered a similarly significant double helix — but this time not as the structure of human DNA, but as the structure of spacetime itself.

From Salon

The enigma emerged in the 1950s, when biologists discovered that the double helix of DNA encodes genes.

From New York Times

Functional analysis based on these structures also revealed how a "prime editor" could achieve reverse transcription, synthesizing DNA from RNA, without "cutting" both strands of the double helix.

From Science Daily

In essence, they took the familiar straight linear DNA double helix and twisted it in either direction once, twice, three times or more and connected the ends together to form a loop.

From Science Daily

The nucleotides are lined up millions of times and form the DNA double helix, similar to a spiral staircase.

From Science Daily