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Members of the laboratory of Prof. Scott Silverman have identified synthetic DNA enzymes that cleave amide bonds, which are fundamental components of proteins. These DNA enzymes were identified by in vitro selection, using modified DNA nucleotides that have protein-like functional groups. The finding opens the door to synthetic DNA enzymes as novel proteases, with applications in fields such as proteomics. The Silverman lab members who performed the research are graduate student Cong Zhou, postdoc Joshua Avins, undergraduates Paul Klauser and Yujeong Lee, and graduate student Benjamin Brandsen.