The Genome Folding Problem: Bridging Physics and Biology
Leonid A. Mirny
Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, and Department of Physics, MIT  

DNA of the human genome is two meters long and is folded into a structure that fits inside a cell nucleus of just 5 microns in diameter. Revealing genome organization in 3D and understanding physical principles that govern its folding constitute the Genome Folding Problem. Recently developed Chromosome Conformation Capture technique provides comprehensive information about spatial genome organization. Our analysis of these data and polymer simulations suggest that the genome is folded into a non-equilibrium polymer state, called the fractal globule. I will discuss intriguing properties of this polymer state and other major features of the human and yeast genome organization.