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New Amino Acid Discovered

Posted by timothy on from the lookie-here-fellas-it's-another-one dept.

EricMargel writes: "As published in Science, researchers at the Ohio State University claim to have discovered the 22nd known amino acid, pyrrolysine, the first discovered since 1986." I hope rice and beans are still sufficient to get all the needed amino acids.

1 of 142 comments (clear)

  1. Importance of this discovery? by donnacha · · Score: 5, Interesting


    The very fact that this amino acid was overlooked for so long suggests that it's direct importance to our lives is negligible; it's relevance is more about filling the final gaps in an overall picture.

    In the article, Krzycki suggests that it also alters the way we should approach genetics:

    "This shows us that the genetic code, and therefore, evolution is much more plastic than people might have thought."

    "I think this work will cause researchers to start looking at genetic sequences that they might have thought at first were simply aberrations," he said. "Instead, they might signal discoveries like ours."