A new study has revealed that DNA can be assembled in a way we didn't know about before

14. 05. 2026

Scientists have discovered a completely new method of DNA synthesis. Normally, DNA synthesis requires a DNA template that serves as a guide for proteins called DNA polymerases. However, a team from Stanford University has now discovered a new type of polymerase that can function even without a DNA template. In the bacterial defense system, DNA strands (orange and cyan) are synthesized by two enzymes: one (yellow) uses RNA (beige) as a template to guide the assembly of the nucleotide bases that make up DNA. The second and unusual enzyme (light blue) uses its own amino acids as a template. For decades, biology textbooks have stated a simple rule: DNA is created by copying a DNA template. After one enzyme unravels the DNA double helix into two separate strands, another enzyme, called polymerase, creates a complementary sequence for each strand, base by base. Simply put, this creates two copies of the original DNA. This is then translated into RNA, and that into proteins. Scientists refer to this direction of translation as the central dogma.