Biology

Genetics and Evolution

UCLA chemists report having created a synthetic "gene" that could capture heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions, which contribute to global warming, rising sea levels and the increased acidity of oceans. They have taken both organic and inorganic units and joined them into a synthetic crystal which codes information like DNA does. It is in no way as sophisticated as DNA, but it is new to the fields of chemistry and materials science (Chemists Create Synthetic 'Gene-Like' Crystals for Carbon Dioxide Capture, 2010).

In the early 1990s, classes of materials called metal-organic frameworks (MOF's) were invented. These are sometimes described as crystal sponges because the workings can nearly be changed at will. MOF's have pores or openings in which gases can be stored that are usually difficult to store and transport. Molecules can go in and out of the pores unhindered. UCLA chemists have created crystals of metal-organic frameworks in which the sequence of multiple functionalities of varying kinds and ratios act as a synthetic gene. With these multivariate MOF's, they have figured out a way to incorporate controlled complexity in a synthetic crystal taking synthetic crystals to a new level of performance (Chemists Create Synthetic 'Gene-Like' Crystals for Carbon Dioxide Capture, 2010).

This discovery could lead to cleaner energy, including the technology that could be used by factories and cars to capture carbon dioxide before it reaches the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is polluting the Earth's atmosphere along with damaging coral reefs and marine life and has impacts that are irreversible. Scientists believe that this will be important for potentially getting to a viable carbon dioxide-capture material with ultra-high selectivity. They are optimistic that is within their reach. Potentially, they think that they could create a material that could convert carbon dioxide into a fuel, or a material that can separate carbon dioxide with greater efficiency (Chemists Create Synthetic 'Gene-Like' Crystals for Carbon Dioxide Capture, 2010).

References

Chemists Create Synthetic 'Gene-Like' Crystals for Carbon Dioxide Capture. (2010). Retrieved

February 16, 2010, from Science Daily Web site:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100211141144.htm