https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/12/231213212519.htm

This article is about using that "new version of the standard genetic alphabet" to create custom proteins and medicines. There's no mention of trying to add this new "genetic alphabet" to your genetic code or otherwise doing anything necessarily harmful.

For some reason, I'm still leery about what's going on here. But it's obviously coming regardless.

Now, researchers at Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California San Diego have come one step closer to unlocking the potential of artificial DNA. The researchers found that RNA polymerase, one of the most important enzymes involved in protein synthesis, was able to recognize and transcribe an artificial base pair in exactly the same manner as it does with natural base pairs.

The findings, published December 12, 2023 in Nature Communications, could help scientists create new medicines by designing custom proteins.

"Considering how diverse life on Earth is with just four nucleotides, the possibilities of what could happen if we can add more are enticing," said senior author Dong Wang, PhD, a professor at Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at UC San Diego. "Expanding the genetic code could greatly diversify the range of molecules we can synthesize in the lab and revolutionize how we approach designer proteins as therapeutics."

. . . The study uses a new version of the standard genetic alphabet, called the Artificially Expanded Genetic Information System (AEGIS), that incorporates two new base pairs. Originally developed by Benner, AEGIS began as a NASA-supported initiative to try to understand how extraterrestrial life could have developed.

By isolating RNA polymerase enzymes from bacteria and testing their interactions with synthetic base pairs, they found that the synthetic base pairs from AEGIS form a geometric structure that resembles the Watson and Crick geometry of natural base pairs. The result: the enzymes that transcribe DNA can't tell the difference between these synthetic base pairs and those found in nature.

"In biology, structure determines function," said Wang. "By conforming to a similar structure as standard base pairs, our synthetic base pairs can slip in under the radar and be incorporated in the usual transcription process."