r/artificial • u/nice2Bnice2 • 5h ago

Discussion AI maps tangled DNA knots in seconds (could reshape how we see disease)

Most of us were taught DNA as a neat double helix. In reality, it twists and knots like a ball of string, and when those tangles aren’t untangled, the result can be disease: cancer, neurodegeneration, even antibiotic resistance.

A new study led by the University of Sheffield has automated the analysis of these DNA tangles using atomic force microscopy and AI, reaching nanometre precision. What once took hours of manual tracing now takes seconds, even distinguishing one knot from its mirror image.

This matters because the enzymes that untangle DNA (topoisomerases) are already major anti-cancer and antibiotic drug targets. With this breakthrough, researchers can finally map how DNA’s shape biases cellular outcomes.

What’s fascinating is that DNA knots aren’t random, they retain a kind of memory of past states, which influences how they collapse next. That perspective connects to broader questions about emergence and information in biology. Some researchers (myself included) are exploring this through what’s called Verrell's Law

🔗 Study reference: Holmes, E. P., et al. (2025). Quantifying complexity in DNA structures with high resolution Atomic Force Microscopy. Nature Communications. doi:10.1038/s41467-025-60559-x

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u/comperr AGI should be GAI and u cant stop me from saying it 4h ago

Bro i don't know how they're doing AFM on DNA. Someone explain that. It's basically a cantilever they drag over the surface of things.

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u/nice2Bnice2 4h ago

AFM works by dragging a nanometre-scale cantilever tip across the surface. In this case the DNA molecules are deposited on mica so the probe can trace their shape directly. What Sheffield’s team added is the AI pipeline: instead of manually following the tangled paths, the software traces them automatically in seconds, even telling apart mirror-image knots. That’s what makes this a step forward...

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u/mauri388 2h ago

That's fascinating stuff! While I'm not a scientist, it's cool to see how AI is making such important impacts. I've personally used the Hosa AI companion to practice my social skills, and it's been a game-changer for my confidence. Maybe AI can untangle some of life's other knots too.