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"large molecule" is pretty misleading. DNA is single molecule and unrolled has length over 2 meters. Organic molecules are practically unlimited in their size.


Do you have a source on that? It didn't gut check with me and some quick googling turned up some contradictory, but not decisive, information otherwise [1]

1. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_size_of_a_DNA_molecule


http://www.biology-online.org/biology-forum/about819.html

Fourth post on the page gives a source: This is from Molecular Biology of the Cell (4th Edition) 2004. Alberts et al. Textbook. "Each human cell contains approximately 2 meters of DNA if stretched end-to-end"

Perhaps a human cell contains several DNA molecules?


Each human cell typically contains 23 chromosomes, each of which is basically a long DNA strand.

This indicates that the total length unraveled is 2m: https://www.inkling.com/read/essential-cell-biology-bruce-al...


technically correct but they are talking about touching the accessible surface of a compact molecule which is approximately spherical and thus "size" is determined by its raised profile on a surface.




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