nucleic acid

Cells use RNA, a single-stranded string of nucleic acids that translates blueprints encoded in DNA into the production of proteins.

"Our approach has the potential to dramatically change the way nucleic acid amplification is performed, providing instead a portable, reliable and cost-effective solution for applications, ranging from point-of-care diagnostics to field-based research." said Draz.

The remarkably precise method allows researchers to peer into nanometer-sized membrane sacs, called extracellular vesicles or EVs, that can carry different types of cargos, like proteins, nucleic acids and metabolites, in the bloodstream.

The push from scientists is growing for a massive increase in research on RNA, a nucleic acid long in the shadow to the DNA that makes up genomes.

The researchers had the broad idea of using a bioconjugation approach that would allow the proteins to be loaded into lipid nanoparticles, which form around nucleic acids.