XNA

The structure of DNA was discovered in 1953. Around the early 2000s, researchers created a number of exotic DNA-like structures, ‘Xeno Nucleic Acids’ (XNA).

XNA is a synthetic polymer that can carry the same information as DNA, but with different molecular constituents. The "X" in XNA stands for "xeno" meaning 'stranger' or 'alien', indicating the difference in the molecular structure as compared to DNA or RNA.

It is generally accepted that specific facts and titbits of knowledge cannot be passed from one generation to the next via the genome but the propensity to learn or to implement a learning acquisition can.

Researchers have shown that a person's IQ is highly influenced by genetic factors, and have even identified certain genes that play a role.

It was revealed, among many other things, that identical twins are about 85 percent similar for IQ, whereas, fraternal twins are about 60 percent similar. This would seem to indicate that half of the variation in intelligence is due to genes

DNA data storage is the process of using DNA molecules as a storage medium. Unlike the optical and magnetic forms of storage technologies present today, DNA data won't be stored in binary digits (i.e., 1s and 0s). Instead, they would be encoded into DNA nucleotide bases (A, C, G, T) and stored.

The information in DNA is stored as a code made up of four chemical bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). Human DNA consists of about 3 billion bases, and more than 99 percent of those bases are the same in all people.

The genetic material DNA has garnered considerable interest as a medium for digital information storage because its density and durability are superior to those of existing silicon-based storage media.

Environmental exposure to certain chemicals, ultraviolet radiation, or other external factors can also cause DNA to change. These external agents of genetic change are called mutagens.

Genome editing is a method for making specific changes to the DNA of a cell or organism. It can be used to add, remove or alter DNA in the genome. Human genome editing technologies can be used on somatic cells (non-heritable), germline cells (not for reproduction) and germline cells (for reproduction).

Scientists have been able to alter DNA since the 1970s, but in recent years, they have developed faster, cheaper, and more precise methods to add, remove, or change genes in living organisms.

In-vitro, animal, and human investigations have identified several classes of environmental chemicals that modify epigenetic marks.

Put simply, what you eat won't change the sequence of your DNA, but your diet has a profound effect on how we “express” the possibilities encoded in our DNA.

The foods we consume can turn on or off certain genetic markers, which, play a major and even life or death role in your health outcomes. That said, excessive alcohol consumption can cause irreversible changes to the DNA and changes may persist even when alcohol is no longer consumed.

More than just DNA's lesser-known cousin, RNA plays a central role in turning genetic information into your body's proteins. This remarkable molecule also carries the genetic instructions for many viruses, and it may have helped life get its start.

Given the central role of RNA in many fundamental biological processes, including translation and splicing, changes to its chemical composition can have a detrimental impact on cellular fitness, with some evidence suggesting that RNA damage has roles in diseases such as neurodegenerative disorders.

To this end, strands of DNA and RNA are formed by stringing together long chains of molecules called nucleotides. A nucleotide is made up of three chemical components: a phosphate, a five-carbon sugar group (this can be either a deoxyribose sugar, which, gives us the "D" in DNA—or a ribose sugar—the "R" in RNA), and one of five standard bases (adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine or uracil).

The molecules that piece together to form the six xeno nucleic acids are almost identical to those of DNA and RNA, with one exception: in XNA nucleotides, the deoxyribose and ribose sugar groups of DNA and RNA have been replaced with other chemical structures.

XNA is not intended to give scientists a better understanding of biological evolution as it has occurred historically, but rather to explore ways in which we can control and even reprogram the genetic makeup of biological organisms moving forward. XNA has shown significant potential in solving the current issue of genetic pollution in ‘Genetically Modified Organisms’ (GMOs)…

Food for thought!