Fluorescence spectroscopy is increasingly being used as a technique fo
r probing the structure and dynamics of nucleic acids. Recently, fluor
escence methods have been used to elucidate the three-dimensional arra
ngement of complex DNA and RNA structures, characterize structural per
turbations resulting from base bulges in helices and junctions, determ
ine helical handedness in solution, and analyze the protein-induced me
lting of DNA.