Artificial DNA links up just like the real thing

TWO artificial DNA "letters" can link up just like the natural versions, paving the way for incorporating the newcomers into living cells. Synthetic biologists are racing to come up with artificial versions of the building blocks of life. "We have been basically reinventing the genetic alphabet from the bottom up," says Steven Benner of the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution in Alachua, Florida. Hopes for such fake DNA range from developing new drugs to creating artificial life.

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