Evidence of ferroelectricity in RNA.

Abstract

RECENT experiments have implied an intimate association of ribonucleic acid (RNA) in the memory processes of platyhelminths and in mammals1–3. It is therefore of interest to determine any physical, as well as chemical or physiological, properties that pertain to mechanisms of information storage. Hysteresis is a phenomenon that permits a material in which this property is inherent to maintain a physical state dependent on the history of the material. Ferroelectrics, which display dielectric hysteresis, are characterized by the presence of spontaneous dipole moments which can be oriented by the application of electric fields to the material. In such a material, the state of polarization represents a memory of its electrical history.