According to a February 11, 2024 article, scientists at Iowa State University have made a DNA discovery that could potentially correct genetic errors in cells. The discovery involves DNA nanoparticles that can be used to change DNA materials to convey genetic instructions inside the body. 

The discovery could lead to medical advancements. For example, a DNA nanoparticle could be injected into a person with a liver malfunction caused by a genetic error. The nanoparticle could then attach to the liver and edit the genome to fix the genetic malfunction. 

The DNA nanoparticles are inexpensive, durable, and easy to make. The scientists use about 200 parts, which are put into a tube, heated, and cooled, and then assemble into the desired structure.

After years of trials, Iowa State genetic scientists can build a DNA structure that can express its own genetic instructions, which could lead to medical advances

Swiss chemist Friedrich Miescherdiscovered DNA in 1869. Miescher was originally studying the composition of white blood cells, but instead isolated a new molecule he called nuclein. Nuclein is DNA with associated proteins. 

Although Miescher discovered DNA, many people believe that American biologist James Watson and English physicist Francis Crick discovered DNA in the 1950s. In 1962, Watson, Crick, and Maurice Wilkins were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of the molecular structure of DNA.

DNA is found in all prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. In eukaryotic cells, the majority of DNA is found in the nucleus. The DNA in the nucleus is called nuclear DNA and is made up of long, linear pieces of DNA called chromosomes. A small amount of DNA is also found in the mitochondria, where it is called mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA. 

In prokaryotic organisms, DNA is found in a coiled loop floating in the cytoplasm in a region called the nucleoid. 

DNA is an organic compound with a unique molecular structure. It holds the genetic information of all living organisms

Humans have two types of DNA: nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA. 

Most of the DNA in human cells is found in the nucleus, where it’s called nuclear DNA. A small amount of DNA is found in the mitochondria, where it’s called mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA

The human genome is made up of 24 different types of DNA molecules. More than 98% of the human genome is made up of noncoding DNA (ncDNA), which are DNA sequences that are not found within protein-coding exons. 

DNA is made up of chemical building blocks called nucleotides, which are made up of a phosphate group, a sugar group, and one of four types of nitrogen bases. The four types of nitrogen bases are: Adenine (A), Thymine (T), Guanine (G), Cytosine (C).

Researchers at Iowa State University have discovered a way to create DNA nanoparticles that can change DNA materials to convey genetic instructions inside the body. 

The researchers, professor Eric Henderson and recent doctoral graduate Chang-Yong Oh, published their findings in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports. 

The researchers have been working on the discovery for 20 years, modifying the connections that keep DNA in its double-helical form. This allows them to create self-assembling molecules that could have therapeutic uses. 

DNA encodes information through the order of the nucleotides along each strand. Each base—A, C, T, or G—can be considered as a letter in a four-letter alphabet that spells out biological messages in the chemical structure of the DNA.

From pencil and paper sketches to using an atomic microscope, Henderson and two doctoral students at Iowa State University have been doing research on fabricating DNA nanoparticles. The innovation would allow scientists to change DNA materials to convey their own genetic instructions inside a body

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