A team of local scientists has solved a major mystery surrounding the structure of DNA.

Led by Professor Kim Kyung-kyu at Sungkyunkwan University and Chung-ang University professor Kim Yang-kyun, the team announced Wednesday that it had mapped for the first time in the world the three-dimensional structure of the junction point of B-type and Z-type DNA, known to be related to the control and formation of protein.

The discovery was published in the latest issue of the science journal, Nature.

Z-type DNA is known to control the formation of a gene that causes cancer and other diseases such as those related to small pox.

The development comes 52 years after U.S. scientist James Watson and British scientist Francis Crick first discovered the three-dimensional structure of B-type DNA, and another American scientist, Alexander Rich, first discovered the Z-type DNA structure.

The achievement is expected to make major contributions to future disease control.