Nature Communications, Published online: 05 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-73990-5 Cells carry DNA and RNA signatures that mark disease states, but few tools can both sense them in living cells and link detection to cellular outputs. Here, the authors develop SONAR, which uses target-dependent ssDNA ligation inside cells to detect nucleic acids and drive programmable gene-control outputs.
Programmable Nucleic Acid Sensing in Human Cells Using Circularizable ssDNA
George M. Church