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[Bruce Klein]

Public release date: 19-Nov-2002
Contact: Mark Shwartz
mshwartz@stanford.edu
650-723-9296
Stanford University

Researchers create DNA 'nanocircles' to probe the mystery of aging in human cells

A new form of nanotechnology developed at Stanford University may lead to a better understanding of the life and death of human cells.
Writing in the Nov. 18 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Stanford researchers described how newly created circles of synthetic DNA - called "nanocircles" - could help researchers learn more about the aging process in cells.

"In the long run, we have this dream of making laboratory cells live longer," said Eric Kool, a professor of chemistry at Stanford and co-author of the PNAS study. "We thought of this pie-in-the-sky idea several years ago, and we've been working toward it ever since."

...

"Nanocircles are so simple they're amazing," Kool observed. "Each nanocircle acts like a template that says, 'Copy more of that sequence.' In the test tube, we start with very short telomeres and end up with long ones that are easy to see under the microscope with fluorescent labeling. This suggests the possibility that one day we may be able to make cells live indefinitely and divide indefinitely, so they essentially become refreshed, as if they were younger."

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