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The Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology is a publication of the U.S. Government. The papers are in the public domain and are not subject to copyright in the United States. Articles from J Res may contain photographs or illustrations copyrighted by other commercial organizations or individuals that may not be used without obtaining prior approval from the holder of the copyright.
Fig 1. Structure of B-form dsDNA and major/minor grooves arising from base-pair geometry in which the sugar/phosphates split the head-on view of the double helix into 3.6 rad (210 °) and 2.6 rad (150 °), respectively. The phosphate groups that link the sugars of bases in the z axis are in and out of page in this illustration. The major and minor grooves here are not to scale.