What do telephone wires have to do with DNA? Caltech chemist Jackie Barton reveals how looking at the molecule as a communication tool led to a breakthrough in understanding the electron transfer reactions. These reactions are fundamental to processes such as how we breathe air and break down food. They also can be used to find mistakes in DNA associated with cancer and other diseases.

Jackie Barton is the John G. Kirkwood and Arthur A. Noyes Professor of Chemistry at Caltech.