Chromatin is a hybrid structure of DNA
and protein that manages the complex problem of packaging 3 billion
bases of DNA into a small bundle in the cell that is only a few
micrometers in size. This is no small feat. The length of DNA from
one cell would measure two meters in length if you stretched it out
in front of you. This long DNA not only (obviously) fits inside each
cell, but further, it somehow simultaneously has enough room for
molecules to access and read it when necessary. This is the
equivalent of taking a string that is then length of the world's
tallest building (the Burj Khalifa, at 828 meters) and compacting it
so that it could fit in the palm of your hand.
pg. 82
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