Thymine (IMAGE)

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Thymine

Caption

Thymine – the molecule in the foreground – is one of the four basic building blocks that make up the double helix of DNA. It's such a strong absorber of ultraviolet light that the UV in sunlight should deactivate it, yet this does not happen. In a study reported in Nature Communications, researchers used an X-ray laser at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to make detailed observations of a 'relaxation response' that protects these molecules, and the genetic information they encode, from UV damage.

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Greg Stewart/SLAC

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