ABOVE: A hachimoji DNA double helix
MILLI GEORGIADIS, INDIANA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
By combining four synthetic nucleotides with the four found naturally in nucleic acids, researchers have created eight-letter DNA molecules that look and behave like the real thing, and are even able to be transcribed into RNAs, according to a paper in Science today (February 21). With twice the information storage capacity of natural nucleic acids, these eight-letter, or “hachimoji” molecules—could have countless biotechnological applications, say scientists.
“This is really an exciting paper . . . a true engineering feat. It elegantly increases the number of DNA and RNA building blocks and dramatically expands the information density of nucleic acids,” Northwestern University’s Michael Jewett, who was not involved with the research, writes in an email to The Scientist.
“It’s really exciting to see somebody engineer [such] a system,” says biologist Eugene Wu of the University of Richmond who also ...
