SCIENCE IN THE NEWS DAILY
Can DNA Self-Replicate?
Biological systems are complicated. Though DNA may carry a simple sequence of base pairs, once
this information is transcribed into RNA and translated into proteins, this simple sequence can
give rise to numerous, often unpredictable convolutions. Contending with this unpredictability of
RNA and protein structure, synthetic biologists can struggle to design precise biological systems
with specific goals. But what if the system was constructed entirely of DNA?
In a study in Journal of Royal Society Interface published online last week, Harish
Chandran of Duke University and colleagues use DNA's simplicity and predictability to propose
possible DNA nanostructures that mimic polymerases or restriction enzymes to carry out a variety
of biological processes.
"It's a theoretically neat demonstration that some important reactions could be possible using
DNA's structure," said Chris Dwyer, a computer engineer at Duke University who designs DNA
nanostructures and was not involved with the research.
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