
Synthetic DNA substitute gets its own enzymes, undergoes evolution - evo_9
http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2012/04/synthetic-dna-substitute-gets-its-own-enzymes-undergoes-evolution.ars
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rcthompson
One potential use for non-DNA/RNA-based life: a fail-safe for a useful but
potentially-dangerous synthetic organism. If you have a synthetic organism
that is useful in controlled circumstances but could cause a catastrophe if
released the the outside world, you could make it use an XNA instead of DNA
(and/or RNA), and ensure that it lacks the biosynthetic pathways needed to
synthesize the building blocks. Then the organism will be utterly dependent on
you providing it with the required XNA building blocks, and will be unable to
survive if it is accidentally released.

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jrockway
I believe you, but if I was writing a scifi/horror movie, that's exactly what
the scientist character would say in the first scene :)

