Recently, the classical view of DNA as an isotropic elastic rod has been questioned. Here we model DNA as an elastic rod inlaid with fibrils, based on which we have made prediction that is in consistency with experiments. Our analysis suggests that the bending of short DNAs can be facilitated if there exists a specific structural heterogeneity.
http://appliedmechanics.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/article.aspx?articleid=1841526