Transcript A surprising application of polynomials in daily life

Polynomials
Knots
Biology
Polynomials are used in classifying knots
in mathematics
(not unlike knots we see boy scouts doing).
Jones “polynomial”
x+x3-x4
x-1+x-3-x-4
Knot theory in mathematics has some
exciting applications in biology
– human DNA.
A single strand of human DNA can be as long as 1 m.
Thus, it must be sufficiently coiled up in order to fit into a
cell nucleus of diameter five-millionths of 1m.
In other words, each tightly interwoven DNA strand has
its own knot structure.
•Yet when the DNA divides to give two identical copies of itself,
how can these two copies slide apart in an effortless way?
What kind of knotting permits such smooth separation?
•When a virus attacks a cell, it often changes the knot
structure of the cell’s DNA.
By studying the infected cell’s DNA, researchers hope to
understand how the virus works, and thereby develop
a countermeasure of a cure.
Language of Math pg 257