Scientists have just discovered an entirely new way that DNA can be synthesized.

The business of constructing DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid, to give it its full name) usually requires a template that builder proteins called enzymes can work from.

But now, a team from Stanford University has found that a type of enzyme known as a polymerase can work without a blueprint. Its shape itself acts as a mold that new DNA can be synthesized from, with no external reference materials required.