Previously, fields such as biochemistry operated under the assumption that chromatin and other elements of the nucleus operated in a liquid state... This new understanding of the physical properties of chromatin challenges that idea, and could lead to a more accurate understanding of how the genome is encoded and decoded. All of our chromosomes are made from chromatin, which is half histone (or structural) proteins and half DNA, organized into long strings with bead-like structures (nucleosomes) on them. Inside the nucleus of a cell, the chromatin fiber interacts with itself to condense into a chromosome. The chromatin fiber also supports...