{"id":135315,"date":"2025-11-14T21:42:03","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T21:42:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/135315\/"},"modified":"2025-11-14T21:42:03","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T21:42:03","slug":"new-research-unveils-universal-law-explaining-chaotic-motion-of-chromosomes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/135315\/","title":{"rendered":"New Research Unveils Universal Law Explaining Chaotic Motion Of Chromosomes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thursday, 13 November 2025, 7:38 pm
Press Release: Skoltech<\/a><\/p>\n

Moscow, November 10, 2025<\/p>\n

Researchers from
\nSkoltech, the University of Potsdam, and the Massachusetts
\nInstitute of Technology have discovered a fundamental
\nphysical law that governs the seemingly chaotic motion of
\nchromosomes inside a living cell. This discovery helps solve
\na long-standing biological mystery of how two-meter long DNA
\nmolecules, packed into dense chromosomes, remain mobile
\nenough for vital processes such as turning genes on and off.
\nThe results have been published
\nin the Physical Review Research journal and are supported by
\ngrants from the Russian Science Foundation (No. 25-13-00277)
\nand the German Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.<\/p>\n

A
\ncontradiction existed for a long time: On the one hand,
\nwhole-genome analysis experiments showed that a chromosome
\nin the cell nucleus is packed not into a loose coil but into
\na dense \u201cfractal globule\u201d \u2014 a compact and virtually
\nimmobile structure. On the other hand, direct observations
\nof living cells demonstrated that individual sections of
\nchromosomes move actively and rapidly. Scientists could not
\nexplain how such a dense globule could be so dynamic and
\nfacilitate rapid and efficient gene regulation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe
\ndeveloped a statistical physical model that shows that the
\nmotion of chromosome sections, as long polymer chains, obeys
\na universal physical law independent of the minute details
\nof their structure. The key to the solution lies in
\nconsidering not the point-like, but the collective motion of
\nentire DNA segments. It turns out that the ability of a gene
\non a chromosome to shift as a whole (i.e., the diffusion
\ncoefficient of its center of mass) is inversely proportional
\nto the number of letters in its nucleotide sequence. This is
\na universal principle of polymer chains, valid both in
\nthermodynamic equilibrium and under cellular activity
\nconditions, and is fundamentally linked to Newton\u2019s third
\nlaw,\u201d commented the lead author of the study, Kirill
\nPolovnikov, Assistant Professor at the Skoltech Neuro
\nCenter.<\/p>\n

Advertisement – scroll to continue reading<\/p>\n

By analyzing two markers on a chromosome
\nsimultaneously, the authors were able to isolate the signal
\ncorresponding specifically to the collective motion.
\nCalculations showed that the collective dynamics of
\nchromosomes in the cell are not as fast as they appear when
\nobserving individual points. The extracted parameter
\ncharacterizing this collective mobility was 0.77, which is
\nlower than predicted by the simplest model and corresponds
\nto theories viewing the chromosome as a compact polymer with
\ntopological constraints \u2014 meaning DNA strands cannot
\nfreely pass through one another, tangling into a complex
\nglobule.<\/p>\n

The scientists managed to resolve the
\napparent contradiction. The chromosome is indeed a tightly
\npacked globule, but for short genomic sequences and time
\nintervals, its segments can behave dynamically until they
\nencounter the topological constraints of their own complex
\nstructure. The model also predicts that if thermodynamic
\nconditions change abruptly, as happens during transitions
\nbetween cell cycle phases (including before cell division),
\nlong-range correlations arise between segments in the
\npolymer chains, decaying according to the same universal
\nlaw. This effect, predicted theoretically and confirmed by
\ncomputer simulation, is a marker of the system being driven
\nout of equilibrium and further confirms the role of
\ncollective motion in chromosome dynamics.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, by
\nexperimentally tracking just two reference points on a
\nsection of a chromosome (for example, a gene), we can obtain
\ninformation about its collective dynamics and the complex
\nthree-dimensional structure of the gene as a whole. This not
\nonly deepens our understanding of the fundamental principles
\nof genome organization but also reveals the universal
\nphysical laws governing the behavior of various polymer
\nsystems under conditions far from equilibrium,\u201d added
\nKirill Polovnikov.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Skoltech is a private
\ninternational university (part of the VEB.RF group) in
\nRussia, cultivating a new generation of leaders in
\ntechnology, science, and business. As a factory of
\ntechnologies, it conducts research in breakthrough fields
\nand promotes technological innovation to solve critical
\nproblems that face Russia and the world. Skoltech focuses on
\nsix priority areas: life sciences, health, and agro;
\ntelecommunications, photonics, and quantum technologies;
\nartificial intelligence; advanced materials and engineering;
\nenergy efficiency and the energy transition; and advanced
\nstudies. Established in 2011 in collaboration with the
\nMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Skoltech was
\nlisted among the world\u2019s top 100 young universities by the
\nNature Index in its both editions (2019, 2021). On
\nResearch.com, the Institute ranks as Russian university No.
\n2 overall and No. 1 for genetics. In the recent SCImago
\nInstitutions Rankings, Skoltech placed first nationwide for
\ncomputer science. Website:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.skoltech.ru\/<\/p>\n

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