Science One Step Closer to Mutant X-Men

Four new DNA letters double life’s alphabet

"...Now scientists have doubled this number of life’s building blocks, creating for the first time a synthetic, eight-letter genetic language that seems to store and transcribe information just like natural DNA.

In a study published on 22 February in Science1, a consortium of researchers led by Steven Benner, founder of the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution in Alachua, Florida, suggests that an expanded genetic alphabet could, in theory, also support life."

"...But the latest study is the first to systematically demonstrate that the complementary unnatural bases recognise and bind to each other, and that the double helix that they form holds its structure.

"The researchers then conducted a series of experiments that showed that their synthetic sequences shares properties with natural DNA that are essential for supporting life."

"Benner’s team has also developed further pairs of new bases, opening up the possibility of creating DNA structures that contain 10 or even 12 letters. But the fact that the researchers have already expanded the genetic alphabet to eight is in itself remarkable, says Romesberg. “It’s already doubling what nature has.”