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Mirror image DNA polymerase has been engineered
- dEnigma 5y agoI feel like this should link to the original tweet [1] or even the article behind it. Had to navigate through three layers of retweets to get there. edit: Okay, I guess it's about the additional discussion below that particular tweet. [1] https://mobile.twitter.com/NatureBiotech/status/1420795633955389444 https://mobile.twitter.com/NatureBiotech/status/142079563395...
- senectus1 5y agoNot a biologist, but could you engineer this stuff to coat objects that you can use INSIDE the human body, and because its not biodegradable within our body, it wont break down or be attacked by our immune system?
- htjfkgkridk 5y agoThe body can attack foreign stuff, like metals, even if they are not biodegradable. Which is why for example only a few materials are biocompatible.
- ncmncm 5y ago"Biocompatibility", as a material property, is largely a mirage. Certain materials, in certain specific forms, don't provoke a reaction, but the identical material in a different shape is as bad as anything else. Canonical example is PTFE, which I have heard described as "biologically inert". A perfectly smooth surface of PTFE might be ignored by the immune system, but a fiber of it poking this or that membrane usually will not be; and once scratched, it has numerous sharp bits.
- lmilcin 5y agoMirror proteins doesn't mean they cannot be metabolized or get into reactions. It just means they will not work correctly within a normal organism.
- dnautics 5y agoWrong. You do directed evolution targetting mirror substrates on the normal protein (since we have the facilities to replicate and evolve normal proteins) then synthesize the mirror equivalent, which will then act on the mirror of the mirror substrates, aka the real substrate.
- dnautics 5y agoIt won't break down so easily (natural proteases/Xnases probably won't work), but it might still cause an immune reaction. Actually it might cause a worse immune reaction, since it never goes away.
- iwwr 5y agohttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_life https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_life Also a possible problem if you grow mirror algae, which can kill regular zooplankton and so out-compete regular algae.
- dnautics 5y agoWill it outcompete algae? Even for a total autotroph, salvage pathways are a thing, especially in times of environmental stress,and a mirror algae would not be able to so easily utilize scrap from it's environment. Also why would it kill zooplankton?
- iwwr 5y agoThe wrong chirality form can sometimes be deadly[1], but at best eating it can lead to starvation. Assuming some sustained effort to introduce these organisms to the ecosystem. [1] - https://sites.science.oregonstate.edu/~gablek/CH334/Chapter5/Thalidomide.htm https://sites.science.oregonstate.edu/~gablek/CH334/Chapter5...
- hedora 5y agoI imagine that many of its natural predators (especially viruses) would be rendered ineffective against it, allowing it to outcompete the rest of the ecosystem.
- hedora 5y agoYeah. This is approximately as bad as Ice-9. They really should stop before someone continues to an organism that can reproduce.
- Metacelsus 5y agoI posted this here previously: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27999035 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27999035
- chromatin 5y agoThanks for linking to the actual paper.
- ndm000 5y agoFWIW, the economist just published an article explaining DNA replication that makes this topic much more approachable and understandable for those without background in molecular biology. Dense and worth the read. https://www.economist.com/schools-brief/2021/07/31/biology-brief-how-dna-and-proteins-work https://www.economist.com/schools-brief/2021/07/31/biology-b...
- beerandt 5y ago>>but because the cocoa plant uses enzymes to make cocaine in a specific 3D way all of the cocaine in its leaves is "bioactive", ie when you take a line off a strippers ass 100% of it will match up with various 3D receptors in your brain Well that wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but interesting.
- dnzkw 5y agoIt's always Chinese scientists lately. Things don't look so well for the West, honestly.
- hedora 5y agoThis stuff is probably ridiculously toxic / dangerous. I predict it is used to create artificial sweeteners and fat, and sold with inadequate safety testing.
- taylorfinley 5y agoIf you're intrigued by the possibilities they're explored in Harvard professor George M Church's wonderful book Regenesis https://www.harvard.com/book/regenesis_how_synthetic_biology_will_reinvent_nature_and_ourselves/ https://www.harvard.com/book/regenesis_how_synthetic_biology...