Library / English Dictionary

DOUBLE HELIX

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A pair of parallel helices intertwined about a common axis

Example:

the shape of the DNA molecule is a double helix

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Hypernyms ("double helix" is a kind of...):

helix; spiral (a curve that lies on the surface of a cylinder or cone and cuts the element at a constant angle)

Credits

 Context examples: 

While many have shown that sleep helps the brain store new memories, others, including Francis Crick, the co-discoverer of the DNA double helix, have raised the possibility that sleep – in particular REM sleep – may be a time when the brain actively eliminates or forgets excess information.

(The brain may actively forget during dream sleep, National Institutes of Health)