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Concept

Histone

The image depicts a histone complex, showcasing small, positively charged proteins extending outward from a central sphere, resembling a molecular structure designed to compact DNA within a cell's nucleus.

Small, positively charged proteins around which DNA is wound to compact it inside the nucleus. Roughly 147 base pairs of DNA loop twice around an eight-histone core to form a nucleosome, the basic unit of chromatin packaging. Chemical tags added to histones — methyl groups, acetyl groups — help decide which stretches of DNA are read and which are kept silent, and are inherited through cell division.

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