Researchers create ‘expanded DNA’ molecule

November 3, 2003 | Source: KurzweilAI

Scientists at Stanford University have created an “expanded DNA” (xDNA) artificial form of the DNA molecule with a double helix 20 percent wider than any found in nature.

It is more heat resistant than natural DNA and is fluorescent, which could prove useful in detecting genetic defects in humans by observing fluorescence in a base pair for a complementary strand of natural DNA or RNA in human tissue. A description of the molecule is published in the Oct. 31 issue of the journal Science.

“This new DNA couldn’t function in the natural system on Earth,” said Eric T. Kool, a professor of chemistry at Stanford and co-author of the Science study. “It’s too big. However, we like to think that one day it could be the genetic material for a new form of life, maybe here or on another planet.

“So when we send explorer robots to Jupiter’s moon, Europa, and look under the ice, we’ll have an idea about what sort of life we should be looking for.”

Stanford University press release