Cells with an expanded genetic alphabet could potentially make a wider range of proteins. Image: Synthorx One of the first things you learn in Biology 101 is that the genetic code consists of four letters: A, T, C, and G. Each represents a chemical building block of DNA, the molecule that encodes the information necessary to build life as we know it. But what if we didnt have to settle for just four letters? Now, scientists have accomplished something once thought impossible: Theyve created cells with an expanded genetic alphabet that includes two more letters. We now have a cell that survives and lives with more information in its genome, said Floyd Romesberg, the synthetic biologist at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California who led the work. Having more letters to work with potentially opens the door to a huge range of novel molecules. (A rough analogy: Just think how many crazy new words you could spell with 39 letters instead of the usual 26). With further refinements, synthetic cells might one day be used to createor evolveproteins that dont exist in nature, as well as new sequences of DNA and RNA, any of which could be useful … Continue reading →

An engineered bacterium is able to copy DNA that contains unnatural genetic code The addition of new letters to the 'alphabet of life' could enable biologists to vastly expand the range of proteins that they could synthesize. Credit: National Nanotechnology Initiative For billions of years, the history of life has been written with just four letters A, T, C and G, the labels given to the DNA subunits contained in all organisms. That alphabet has just grown longer, researchers announce, with the creation of a living cell that has two 'foreign' DNA building blocks in its genome. Hailed as a breakthrough by other scientists, the work is a step towards the synthesis of cells able to churn out drugs and other useful molecules. It also raises the possibility that cells could one day be engineered without any of the four DNA bases used by all organisms on Earth. What we have now is a living cell that literally stores increased genetic information, says Floyd Romesberg, a chemical biologist at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, who led the 15-year effort. Their research appears online today inNature. Each strand of the DNA's double helix has a backbone of sugar … Continue reading →

LEBANON, OR (KPTV) - DNA evidence led to an arrest and a major haul of suspected stolen goods nearly a year after a burglary was first reported in Lebanon. Deputies were called out to a home on Stoltz Hill Road on May 9, 2013. The caller reported that their neighbors were out of state and someone had broken into their home. When the victims returned home, it was determined that more than $67,000 worth of property had been stolen, including 10 guns, an ATV, a large coin collection, U.S. savings bonds, jewelry, home electronics, chainsaws, hunting equipment and tools. Deputies seized evidence and sent it to the Oregon State Police Crime Laboratory to be checked for possible DNA. The crime lab reported finding DNA on the evidence but found no match in the database. The DNA profile was stored in the state and national DNA databases and periodically searched as new samples came in. On April 29, 2014, a match was found, linking the DNA evidence to William Driskill, 35, of Lebanon. On Tuesday, a search warrant was served at his home on the 600 block of E Street. Deputies said they recovered a gun and coins believed to be … Continue reading →