Newly found DNA catalysts cleave DNA with water molecule

Better tools for manipulating DNA in the laboratory may soon be possible with newly discovered **deoxyribozymes** (catalytic DNA) capable of cleaving single-stranded DNA, say Scott Silverman and other researchers at the University of Illinois. “Our work suggests that deoxyribozymes have significant potential as sequence-specific DNA cleavage reagents,” said chemistry professor Scott Silverman. “The hope is that we can take this fundamental advance and develop the ability to use DNA as a practical catalyst to cleave double-stranded DNA.” More "news.illinois.edu":[ http://news.illinois.edu/news/09/0817dna.html]

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