{"54805":{"#nid":"54805","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Unselfish Molecules May Have Helped Give Birth to the Genetic Material of Life","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOne of the biggest questions facing scientists today is how life began. How did non-living molecules come together in that primordial ooze to form the polymers of life? Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have discovered that small molecules could have acted as \u201cmolecular midwives\u201d in helping the building blocks of life\u2019s genetic material form long chains and may have assisted in selecting the base pairs of the DNA double helix. The research appears in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences beginning March 8, 2010.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur hypothesis is that before there were protein enzymes to make DNA and RNA, there were small molecules present on the pre-biotic Earth that helped make these polymers by promoting molecular self-assembly,\u201d said Nicholas V. Hud, professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology. \u201cWe\u2019ve found that the molecule ethidium can assist short oligonucleotides in forming long polymers and can also select the structure of the base pairs that hold together two strands of DNA.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of the biggest problems in getting a polymer to form is that, as it grows, its two ends often react with each other instead of forming longer chains. The problem is known as strand cyclization, but Hud and his team discovered that using a molecule that binds between neighboring base pairs of DNA, known as an intercalator, can bring short pieces of DNA and RNA together in a manner that helps them create much longer molecules.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf you have the intercalator present, you can get polymers. With no intercalator, it doesn\u2019t work, it\u2019s that simple,\u201d said Hud.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHud and his team also tested how much influence a midwife molecule might have had on creating DNA\u2019s Watson-Crick base pairs (A pairs with T, and G pairs with C). They found that the midwife used could determine the base pairing structure of the polymers that formed. Ethidium was most helpful for forming polymers with Watson-Crick base pairs. Another molecule that they call aza3 made polymers in which each A base is paired with another A.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn our experiment, we found that the midwife molecules present had a direct effect on the kind of base pairs that formed. We\u2019re not saying that ethidium was the original midwife, but we\u2019ve shown that the principle of a small molecule working as a midwife is sound. In our lab, we\u2019re now searching for the identity of a molecule that could have helped make the first genetic polymers, a sort of \u2018unselfish\u2019 molecule that was not part of the first genetic polymers, but was critical to their formation,\u201d said Hud.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe work was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Science Foundation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOne of the biggest questions facing scientists today is how life began. Scientists at Georgia Tech have discovered that small molecules could have acted as \u201cmolecular midwives\u201d in helping the building blocks of life\u2019s genetic material form long chains and may have assisted in selecting the base pairs of the DNA double helix.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Molecular midwives may have played vital role in birth of DNA and RNA"}],"uid":"27310","created_gmt":"2010-03-08 12:46:56","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:05:41","author":"David Terraso","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-03-08T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2010-03-08T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1041","name":"dna"},{"id":"8906","name":"genes"},{"id":"3031","name":"genetic"},{"id":"190","name":"HUD"},{"id":"984","name":"RNA"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"56477":{"#nid":"56477","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Nick Hud\u0027s Research on \u0022Molecular Midwives\u0022 Featured","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Molecular Midwives\u0022 May have Helped give Birth to Genetic Material of Life\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENick Hud, Professor of Chemistry \u0026amp; Biochemistry and Associate Director of Georgia Tech\u0027s Institute for Bioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience, has research on \u0022Molecular Midwives\u0022 featured in Daily Times India.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EScientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have discovered that small molecules could have acted as \u0022molecular midwives\u0022 in helping the building blocks of life\u0027s genetic material form long chains and may have assisted in selecting the base pairs of the DNA double helix. \u0022Our hypothesis is that before there were protein enzymes to make DNA and RNA, there were small molecules present on the pre-biotic Earth that helped make these polymers by promoting molecular self-assembly,\u0022 said Nicholas V. Hud, professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.dailytimesindia.com\/2010\/03\/101564.htm\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EView Article\u003C\/a\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ww2.chemistry.gatech.edu\/~nh38\/hudlab\/Hud_Lab_Home.htm\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EHud Lab Website\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"Nick Hud, Professor of Chemistry \u0026amp; Biochemistry and Associate Director of Georgia Tech\u0027s Institute for Bioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience, has research on \u0022Molecular Midwives\u0022 featured in Daily Times India.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Nick Hud\u0027s Research on \u0022Molecular Midwives\u0022 Featured"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2010-03-10 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:06:11","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-03-09T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2010-03-09T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"56478":{"id":"56478","type":"image","title":"Nicholas Hud, PhD","body":null,"created":"1449175653","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:47:33","changed":"1475894501","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:41"}},"media_ids":["56478"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"9572","name":"Daily India"},{"id":"109","name":"Georgia Tech"},{"id":"248","name":"IBB"},{"id":"9571","name":"Molecular Midwives"},{"id":"4504","name":"Nicholas Hud"},{"id":"5959","name":"Nick Hud"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EColly Mitchell\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=cmitchell6\u0022\u003EContact Colly Mitchell\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-5982\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["colly.mitchell@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"53000":{"#nid":"53000","#data":{"type":"event","title":"Prof. Nick Hud: A Systematic Approach to the Origin of Biology","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Center for Chemical Evolution: A Systematic Approach to the Origin of Biology\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 2007, Georgia Tech was awarded a three year grant for a Phase I Chemical Bonding Center that is focused on understanding the chemical origins of the first biopolymers. I will discuss the scientific questions being addressed by center members, progress made within our first two years, and the expansion of the center as we prepare for a competition to become an NSF Phase II Center for Chemical Innovation. \n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"In 2007, Georgia Tech was awarded a three year grant for a Phase I Chemical Bonding Center that is focused on understanding the chemical origins of the first biopolymers. I will discuss the scientific questions being addressed by center members, progr","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Prof. Nick Hud: A Systematic Approach to the Origin of Biology"}],"uid":"1","created_gmt":"2010-02-16 14:48:17","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 01:49:04","author":"Jupiter","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2010-02-03T10:30:00-05:00","event_time_end":"2010-02-03T12:00:00-05:00","event_time_end_last":"2010-02-03T12:00:00-05:00","gmt_time_start":"2010-02-03 15:30:00","gmt_time_end":"2010-02-03 17:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2010-02-03 17:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"277","name":"Biology"},{"id":"109","name":"Georgia Tech"},{"id":"5959","name":"Nick Hud"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1795","name":"Seminar\/Lecture\/Colloquium"}],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EFloyd Wood\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIBB\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=fwood3\u0022\u003EContact Floyd Wood\u003C\/a\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}