Researchers use artificial genetic materials to create synthetic enzymes dubbed 'XNAzymes'

12/01/2014 - 00:00

  Medical Research Council (MRC) scientists have created the world’s first enzymes made from artificial genetic material. Their synthetic enzymes, which are made from molecules that do not occur anywhere in nature, are capable of triggering chemical reactions in the lab.<br><br>The research, published today in <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature13982">Nature, opens in new window</a>, gives new insights into the origins of life and could provide a starting point for an entirely new generation of drugs and diagnostics.<br><br><a href="http://www.mrc.ac.uk/news-events/world-s-first-artificial-enzymes-created-using-synthetic-biology/">READ MORE ON MRC | MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL</a><br><br>Ref: 'Catalysts from synthetic genetic polymers’, by Taylor et al, is published in Nature on 1 December | <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature13982">http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature13982</a><br>