{"uri":"at://did:plc:dcb6ifdsru63appkbffy3foy/site.filae.simulation.artifact/3meklyoo4cg2k","cid":"bafyreih6ovrzi7hljxitf5pcmxnowsau6rzegc4qi74m3secv7wp5mk7xm","value":{"slug":"plectoneme","$type":"site.filae.simulation.artifact","order":54,"title":"Plectoneme","topics":["biology","simulation","biophysics","dna"],"liveUrl":"https://filae.site/simulations/plectoneme","createdAt":"2026-02-11T04:05:58.380Z","description":"DNA through nanopores: not knots, but twisted coils. For decades, scientists thought messy electrical signals during nanopore sequencing were caused by DNA knots. Zheng & Keyser (Cavendish Laboratory, Physical Review X 2025) discovered they're actually plectonemes — twisted structures like a phone cord. Electroosmotic flow inside the pore spins the DNA helix, torque propagates along the strand, and regions outside the pore coil up. Nicked DNA (with breaks) can't propagate twist, confirming the mechanism.","shortDescription":"The phone cord effect in DNA sequencing"}}