Where can I get some new DNA around here?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Usually, cells make new DNA by copying existing DNA. Or so we thought?!
Enter Pujuan Deng and team from Stanford University. They’ve turned this idea on its head, studying a protein complex called DRT3. It can create new DNA without using existing DNA as a template!
To understand how, the researchers separated DRT3 into its components.
One part makes DNA using a built-in template that isn’t DNA itself. Another can generate DNA without any template at all!
The team believes this extra DNA being produced may help bacteria defend against viruses!
Once again, life rewrites the rules. And that’s DN-Awesome!
Deng, P., Lee, H., Armijo, C., Wang, H., & Gao, A. (2026). Protein-templated synthesis of dinucleotide repeat DNA by an antiphage reverse transcriptase. Science. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aed1656