double helix
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
helix
[he´liks] (pl. he´lices, helixes) (Gr.)2. the superior and posterior free margin of the pinna of the ear.
α-helix (alpha helix) the complex structural arrangement of parts of protein molecules in which a single polypeptide chain forms a right-handed helix.
double helix (Watson-Crick helix) the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), consisting of two coiled chains, each of which contains information completely specifying the other chain.
Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.
Wat·son-Crick he·lix
(waht'sŏn crik),the helical structure assumed by two strands of deoxyribonucleic acid, held together throughout their length by hydrogen bonds between bases on opposite strands, referred to as Watson-Crick base pairing. See: base pair.
[James Dewey Watson, Francis H. C. Crick]
Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
double helix
n.
The coiled structure of double-stranded DNA in which strands linked by hydrogen bonds form a spiral configuration, with the two strands oriented in opposite directions.
The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2007, 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
double helix
A structural motif of nucleic acids in which 2 complementary chains of DNA and/or RNA spiral around each other as paired nucleobases attached to a deoxyribose phosphate backboneMcGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Wat·son-Crick he·lix
(waht'sŏn-krik' hē'liks)The helical structure assumed by two strands of deoxyribonucleic acid, held together throughout their length by hydrogen bonds between bases on opposite strands, referred to as Watson-Crick base pairing.
See also: base pair
Synonym(s): DNA helix, double helix.
See also: base pair
Synonym(s): DNA helix, double helix.
[James Dewey Watson, Francis H. C. Crick]
Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012
double helix
see DNA.Collins Dictionary of Biology, 3rd ed. © W. G. Hale, V. A. Saunders, J. P. Margham 2005
Watson,
James Dewey, U.S. geneticist and Nobel laureate, 1928–.Watson-Crick helix - the helical structure assumed by two strands of deoxyribonucleic acid. Synonym(s): DNA helix; double helix; twin helix
Medical Eponyms © Farlex 2012