Life uses 4 DNA letters. Scientists just made 8 work

Science Daily | Sat, 05 Sep 2026 01:25:54 EDT

In San Diego labs,
Life’s code stretched to eight letters,
RNA reads them well.

Researchers at UC San Diego have demonstrated that a key cellular enzyme can accurately read an eight-letter genetic alphabet, doubling the four letters used by all known life on Earth. Detailed imaging revealed that RNA polymerase handles synthetic DNA letters in surprisingly similar ways to…

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