Scientists in Cambridge, UK have created
a compound called "XNA". It is similar to DNA and RNA, essentially replacing the deoxyribose and ribose with some other molecule. According to researchers, some of the XNA's created are actually more stable than our own naturally occurring nucleic acids. Certain speculations point to potential uses in drugs, therapies, and laboratory testing. There is possibly a way to make synthetic life from XNA's; a topic that will surely generate controversy in the future. Perhaps new genetic therapies that involve these synthetic molecules will open new doors into the realm of genetics that have never been explored before.
Most importantly, since scientists can manipulate and create these XNA's as they desire, it can help scientists to understand the processes of
DNA and RNA more closely. These two nucleic acids are the essence of life, and if they can be understood better, there may be no boundaries to what can now be achieved in a laboratory. Understanding our own genetic code more closely can potentially benefit mankind in amazing ways.
Making synthetic DNA can help us study and better understand replication and the role DNA plays. If we can make DNA then we can have it code for the specific protein we desire.
ReplyDeleteA little strange how only the sugar backbone is altered in XNAs, and yet the scientists are claiming this is to be a revolutionary feat. Isn't the nucleobases purines and pyrimidines in the DNA/RNA that are the key to the molecular transmission of information, not the sugar backbone?
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