Drugs that target specific sequences of DNA in the human genome may be close.
Peter Dervan and his colleagues at the California Institute of Technology have
synthesised a molecule that binds to a specific sequence of DNA 16 base pairs
long, the shortest sequence that should be unique in the human genome (
Journal of the American Chemical Society, vol 120, p 3434). He had
previously only been able to block sequences of seven pairs. If the molecules
can inhibit DNA expression, they could be used as drugs, for example to block
the spread of viruses.
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