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SEMI-SYNTHETIC ORGANISM. "Organisms are defined by the information encoded in their genomes, and since the origin of life this information has been encoded using a two-base-pair genetic alphabet (A–T and G–C). In vitro, the alphabet has been expanded to include several unnatural base pairs (UBPs)." View in LinkedIn

WATSON AND CRICK'S DOUBLE HELIX just expanded to four. "G-quadruplexes, so-called because they form in guanine-rich DNA sequences, are not just a structural curiosity - they form at sites across the genome in living cells. Cancers are usually driven by genes called oncogenes that have mutated to increase DNA replication - causing cell proliferation to spiral out of control, and leading to tumour growth. The increased DNA replication rate during oncogenesis leads to an intensity in the quadruplex structures." https://lnkd.in/dn_e5kr View in LinkedIn

DNA STRAND TRANSFER. "Our results show that the human prion protein (huPrP) functionally resembles NCp7 of HIV-1. Both proteins form large nucleoprotein complexes upon binding to DNA. They accelerate the hybridization of complementary DNA strands and chaperone viral DNA synthesis during the minus and plus DNA strand transfers necessary to generate the long terminal repeats." https://lnkd.in/dfswmuf View in LinkedIn

"THE PRION PROTEIN has DNA strand transfer properties similar to retroviral nucleocapsid protein." https://lnkd.in/dfswmuf View in LinkedIn

PRIONS AND DNA. "Recent results show that PrP binds to nucleic acids in vitro and is found associated with retroviral particles. These findings suggest that PrP could be involved in nucleic acid metabolism in vivo." ( PrP = cellular prion protein). https://lnkd.in/dfswmuf View in LinkedIn

MODIFIED DNA IN CELLS. "Guanine-rich DNA sequences that can adopt non-Watson-Crick structures in vitro are prevalent in the human genome. Whether such structures normally exist in mammalian cells has, however, been the subject of active research for decades. (We show that) Small-molecule–induced DNA damage identifies alternative DNA structures in human genes." https://lnkd.in/dj3aJwZ View in LinkedIn

ALTERNATIVE DNA IN NATURE. "Local structural transitions from the common B-DNA conformation into other DNA forms can be functionally important. Such transitions within certain sequence elements of DNA can be induced by changes in environmental conditions, protein binding and superhelical tension. Several lines of evidence indicate that alternative DNA structures may exist in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. The data on their involvement in replication, gene expression, recombination and mutagenesis continues to accumulate." An excellent review. https://lnkd.in/dPQHwzR View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT FROM NATURE deals with culturally confined knowledge, often due to language barriers. Think: 100 years of phage antibiotic therapy in Russia; think: surgery under accupuncture for centuries; and now, think: Mugifumi, or the beneficial aspects of touch in plants. Language is not the only barrier to knowledge diffusion: scientific resistance to new ideas is perhaps more impeding. View in LinkedIn

EXPANDED GENETIC ALPHABETS. "The possibility of increasing the number of replicable nucleotides in DNA and RNA (collectively xNA) above the standard four found in natural terran xNA was noted a quarter-century ago. However, only recently has the broader scientific community come to recognize that expanded genetic “alphabets” might also expand the functional potential of nucleic acids." https://lnkd.in/dinaF2C View in LinkedIn

SIGNIFICANCE OF XDNA. "Scientists have created artificial genetic material that can store information and evolve over generations in a similar way to DNA - a feat expected to drive research in medicine and biotechnology, and shed light on how molecules first replicated and assembled into life billions of years ago. Ultimately, the creation of alternatives to DNA could enable scientists to make novel forms of life in the laboratory." https://lnkd.in/dcUY9Jt View in LinkedIn