This cartoon illustrates some key aspects studied in LightDyNAmics

The cartoon characters are named GACT, from the initials of the four DNA bases: Guanine, Adenine, Cytosine, and Thymine. GACTs give hands (associate via hydrogen bonds) to form double helices. But even when interconnected, GACTs remain able to perform weak movements, as happens with molecules in soft matter. Upon absorption of UV radiation by DNA (when a photon hits GACTs) the light energy triggers a series of processes which may lead to chemical reactions damaging the DNA; for example, two bases may stick together (two GACTS become blue) or a GACT may lose an electron, represented by a hat. The processes preceding such reactions strongly depend on the local motions, as is the case of organic materials used in the field of molecular electronics.