X-ray crystallography elastic X-ray scattering include powder diffraction, Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) and several types of X-ray fiber diffraction, which was used by Rosalind Franklin in determining the double-helix structure of DNA. In general, single-crystal X-ray diffraction offers more structural information than these other techniques; however, it requires a sufficiently large and regular crystal, which is not always available. These scattering methods generally use "monochromatic" X-rays, which are restricted to a single wavelength with minor deviations. A broad spectrum of X-rays (that is, a blend of X-rays with different wavelengths) can also be used to carry out X-ray diffraction, a technique known
Molecular models of DNA omit both water and ions dynamically bound to B-DNA, and are thus less useful for understanding the dynamic behaviors of B-DNA "in vivo". The physical and mathematical analysis of X-ray and spectroscopic data for paracrystalline B-DNA is thus far more complex than that of crystalline, A-DNA X-ray diffraction patterns. The paracrystal model is also important for DNA technological applications such as DNA nanotechnology. Novel methods that combine X-ray diffraction of DNA with X-ray microscopy in hydrated living cells are now also being developed. There are various uses of DNA molecular modeling in Genomics and Biotechnology research applications, from DNA repair