Enzyme forges carbon-silicon bonds with a little human help
Selective breeding produces biological ability to link resistant atoms
FREAKY FUTURE Is silicon-based life (illustrated above) out there in the universe? The jury is still out — but with a little help from humans, life on Earth might be able to sprinkle a little silicon in with its carbon.
Lei Chen and Yan Liang (BeautyOfScience.com) for Caltech
Carbon and silicon don’t play nice in nature — they link up only in human-made products like paint and pharmaceuticals.