Scientists have designed a molecular machine -- a "molecular hopper" -- capable of moving single strands of DNA.

The hopper moves along a nanoscale track. Its locomotion is made possible by the making and breaking of simple chemical bonds. In lab tests, the hopper successfully carried single strands of DNA through a protein nanotube.

The breakthrough could inspire the next generation of gene editing technologies.

"Being able to control molecular motion is the holy grail of building nanoscale machines," Hagan Bayley, a professor of chemistry at Oxford University, said in a news release. "Being able to process single molecules of DNA under precise chemical control may provide an alternative to the use of enzymes in DNA sequencing technologies, improving their speed and the number of molecules that can be analyzed in parallel."

The miniature hopper moves along a track made of cysteine residues. Cysteine is a type of amino acid. Scientists threaded the track through a membrane-lined nanotube. The membrane carried an electric field. The current controls the making and breaking of chemical bonds, triggering the movement of the molecular hopper.

"The hopper demonstrated characteristics desired in a moving molecule: defined start and end points, processivity, no chemical fuel requirement, directional motion, and external control," researchers wrote in the journal Science.

The hopper was designed specifically to carry cargo.

"Cargos were attached to a carrier motor, and their position and chemical identity read out from changes in the current through the pore," scientists explained in their newly published paper. "These features enabled repeat observations of a single molecule as it moved back and forth on the track."

The molecular hopper's movement is described as "ratcheting." The process could prove useful to future molecular machine technologies, especially technologies used for DNA and RNA sequencing.

Related Links
Darwin Today At TerraDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

300 endangered turtles found dead on Mexico beach
Mexico City (AFP) Aug 29, 2018
More than 300 sea turtles from an endangered species were found dead on a beach in southern Mexico, trapped in a banned type of fishing net, environmental authorities said. In Mexico's second mass turtle death in as many weeks, the Pacific Ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) were found floating just off the beach of Puerto Escondido in the state of Oaxaca, their shells forming a bleak mini-island. "They had drowned at sea about eight days earlier, trapped in banned 120-meter fishing nets and ... read more