|
Summary:
Here I have used wooden cubes that I painted with the appropriate
dots to create dice representing DNA bases. Specifically, a 2 represents
Thymine (T), 4 Adenine (A), 3 Cytosine (C) and the 6 is Guanine
(G). Besides some aesthetic reasons such as the number ‘4’
resembling the letter ‘A’ and ‘6’ resembling
‘G’ etc, I chose to represent the number of hydrogen bonds
formed between the real base pairs. The two H-bonds formed between
A-T and the three bonds between C-G are characterized by two rows
of dots between ‘2-4’ and the three rows of connections
between ‘3-6’, respectively. Finally the dice are connected
in 3D and are capable of folding in on themselves to hide the message
they contain. This way the genetic code can only be read in one
plane.I believe DNA bases are the building blocks of life where
God (or a supreme being) is the architect. I find proof in the fact
that we have only just recently come to understand some of the mechanics
of DNA and we are working so hard to continue unraveling its mysteries.
I also feel that there are more aspects of DNA that we are oblivious
to at this time such as the possibility of other structural restrictions
and components. In creating this piece, I tried to capture most
of these ideas. I used small cubes as a symbol of life’s building
block. I converted the blocks to dice by labeling the sides with
the appropriate number of dots. These ‘dice’ represent
the randomness that exists in our DNA. On the other hand, to also
demonstrate the level of stability that is present I chose specific
sides of the dice as my four bases. A four (4) corresponds to the
base Adenine (A) and the others follow: (2) – (T) Thymine,
(6) – (G) Guanine and (3) –(C) Cytosine with a specific
binding pattern for each pair. The actual DNA bases form three Hydrogen
bonds between C-G and two H-bonds between A-T. My bases ‘3’
and ‘6’ both have three rows of dots to form the necessary
number of H-bonds. Similarly, my ‘2’ and ‘4’
bases can form the two rows of H-bonds necessary to hold them together.
To further play on the mysteries of folding/coiling DNA, I created
this piece in three-dimensional space. When placed on a flat surface
the cubes appear to be attached with complete overlap of one surface.
However, much like when DNA unfolds, my piece is capable of two
types of extensions. First the individual pairs can be pulled apart
like an accordion and second they can be lifted into a step-like
3-demensional scheme that is only connected along the edges. This
process is both fully reversible and reusable. Furthermore the stacking
of the base pairs is also governed by a law where purines and pyridines
prefer to stack on their likes –hence producing the jagged
look of my DNA. In the mutated strand, there are (unstable) single
base pair substitutions that do not allow for correct stacking.
Therefore the ‘mutant’ base will flip and position itself
perpendicular to the plane of the DNA base pairs. Furthermore to
represent the detrimental effects of mutations, theses mutant bases
will interact in the perpendicular plane to rigidify mutant segments
of DNA. This in turn will hinder correct folding and storage.
|
