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The Alphabet Just Got 50 Percent Bigger

Feb 01, 2008

Researchers have created two novel artificial DNA base pairs, reports this New Scientist article. Using large-scale drug discovery techniques, they screened 3,600 candidates and found a pair of molecules, dSICS and dMMO2, that were treated normally and replicated by natural polymerases. Scientists hope the new bases can eventually be used in novel DNA applications, like nanotech and gene silencing.

Breaking News
The Scan

Not Yet a Permanent One

NPR says the lack of a permanent Food and Drug Administration commissioner has "flummoxed" public health officials.

Unfair Targeting

Technology Review writes that a new report says the US has been unfairly targeting Chinese and Chinese-American individuals in economic espionage cases.

Limited Rapid Testing

The New York Times wonders why rapid tests for COVID-19 are not widely available in the US.

Genome Research Papers on IPAFinder, Structural Variant Expression Effects, Single-Cell RNA-Seq Markers

In Genome Research this week: IPAFinder method to detect intronic polyadenylation, influence of structural variants on gene expression, and more.