New technology reveals hidden DNA scaffolding built before life 'switches on'

For decades, scientists viewed the genome of a newly fertilized egg as a structural "blank slate"—a disordered tangle of DNA waiting for the embryo to wake up and start reading its own genetic instructions. In research published in Nature Genetics, Professor Juanma Vaquerizas and his team have found that a surprising level of structure is already in place. They've developed a breakthrough technology, called Pico-C, which enables scientists to see the 3D structure of the genome in unprecedented detail.