Hachimoji DNA

[1][2][3][4][5] Benefits of such a nucleic acid system may include an enhanced ability to store data, as well as insights into what may be possible in the search for extraterrestrial life.

Natural DNA is a molecule carrying the genetic instructions used in the growth, development, functioning, and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses.

DNA is a polynucleotide as it is composed of simpler monomeric units called nucleotides; when double-stranded, the two chains coil around each other to form a double helix.

[7][8] In natural DNA, each nucleotide is composed of one of four nucleobases (cytosine [C], guanine [G], adenine [A] or thymine [T]), a sugar called deoxyribose, and a phosphate group.

"[3][19] Research team leader Steven Benner notes, "By carefully analyzing the roles of shape, size and structure in hachimoji DNA, this work expands our understanding of the types of molecules that might store information in extraterrestrial life on alien worlds.