Scientists Achieve Breakthrough in , Engineering 'Artificial' Life.<br />'The Independent' reports that scientists have created <br />a yeast cell with 50% synthetic DNA, coming one <br />step closer to creating complex "artificial" life.<br />An international team combined over seven <br />synthetic chromosomes into a single cell, which later <br />survived and reproduced like a normal yeast cell.<br />Yeast, which stores DNA within <br />a nucleus, is a single-celled microbe <br />classified as an "eukaryotic" organism. .<br />'The Independent' reports that it is <br />the first time scientists have tried to <br />engineer the entire genome of an eukaryote. .<br />We decided that it was important to <br />produce something that was very <br />heavily modified from nature’s design, Professor Jef Boeke, synthetic biologist at New York University’s <br />Langone Health and leader of Sc2.0, via 'The Independent' .<br />Our overarching aim <br />was to build a yeast that <br />can teach us new biology, Professor Jef Boeke, synthetic biologist at New York University’s <br />Langone Health and leader of Sc2.0, via 'The Independent' .<br />The team believes that their achievement <br />could help develop new products <br />like biofuels and vaccines. .<br />The team believes that their achievement <br />could help develop new products <br />like biofuels and vaccines. .<br />The synthetic chromosomes <br />are massive technical achievements <br />in their own right, but will also open <br />up a huge range of new abilities for <br />how we study and apply biology, Dr. Ben Blount, assistant professor in the School of Life <br />Sciences at the University of Nottingham, via 'The Independent' .<br />This could range from creating <br />new microbial strains for greener <br />bioproduction, through to helping <br />us understand and combat disease, Dr. Ben Blount, assistant professor in the School of Life <br />Sciences at the University of Nottingham, via 'The Independent' .<br />The team's findings were published in the journals <br />'Cell,' 'Molecular Cell' and 'Cell Genomics.'
