A team led by the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Milan has discovered some unexpected forms of liquid crystals of ultrashort DNA molecules immersed in water, providing a new scenario for a key step in the emergence of life on Earth.CU-Boulder physics Professor Noel Clark said the team found that surprisingly short segments of DNA, life's molecular carrier of genetic information, could assemble into several distinct liquid crystal phases that "self-orient" parallel to one another and stack into columns when placed in a water solution. Life is widely believed to have emerged as segments of DNA- or RNA-like molecules in a prebiotic "soup" solution of ancient organic molecules.
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« Technology Tidbits | Main | Why do people laugh at creationists? »
Origin 0f Life Research
Category: Science News
Posted on: November 26, 2007 3:13 PM, by Greg Laden
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Comments
How long before AIG starts to twitter and fret about this?
Posted by: Gene Goldring | November 26, 2007 8:48 PM