Visualization of DNA simulation results.

The comprehension of the (dynamic) configuration adopted by the DNA, of its packing into the cell is one of the major goals of biology. Numerical simulations address the topology of longer and longer DNA structures like plasmids. Here is shown the compaction of 28,000 DNA base pairs resulting from the action of fifty transcription factors (data shown courtesy of Ivan Junier; see [28] for details about the self-avoiding worm-like chain numerical simulation). Left image: The DNA is displayed as a thick line. Middle image: The DNA is displayed as a helicoidal double ribbon when the user zooms in. Right image: A transition between the helicoidal double ribbon rendering and the atomic rendering occurs when the user brings the camera closer to the object.