Scientists develop gene silencing DNA enzyme that can target a single molecule

 Originally published by University of California, Irvine on May 8, 2023

 A hairpin loop from a pre-mRNA. Highlighted are the nucleobases (green) and the ribose-phosphate backbone (blue). Note that this is a single strand of RNA that folds back upon itself. Credit: Vossman/ Wikipedia

Researchers from the University of California, Irvine have developed a DNA enzyme—or DNAzyme—that can distinguish between two RNA strands inside a cell and cut the disease-associated strand while leaving the healthy strand intact. This breakthrough "gene silencing" technology could revolutionize the development of DNAzymes for treating cancer, infectious diseases and neurological disorders.

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