(CNN) Look miles into the future and imagine a day when geneticists can design a flawless set of human genes in a laboratory. <\/p>\n
That future vision may never arrive, but it has taken a step closer. <\/p>\n
Scientists have built a designer chromosome and inserted it into a cell, geneticist Jef Boeke from New York University announced this week. <\/p>\n
The chromosome was a heavily altered version, a departure from its natural counterpart. A team of scientists from around the world made 500 changes to its genetic base. <\/p>\n
When you change the genome, youre gambling, said Boeke, who led the project. One wrong change can kill the cell. <\/p>\n
But the cell survived and made use of its new chromosome. It also reproduced, and subsequent cells carried the new chromosome forward. <\/p>\n
Actually, make this breakthrough a second step closer to that way-out-there future. <\/p>\n
Researchers were already able to duplicate a chromosome on a computer four years ago, build it in the lab, insert it into a cell and watch it work. <\/p>\n
It was a huge advancement that created the first synthetic bacteria cell, scientists said then. <\/p>\n
But, now, theres been a leap forward, Boeke said. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Go here to read the rest: (CNN) Look miles into the future and imagine a day when geneticists can design a flawless set of human genes in a laboratory. That future vision may never arrive, but it has taken a step closer. Scientists have built a designer chromosome and inserted it into a cell, geneticist Jef Boeke from New York University announced this week Continue reading
\nDesigner genes take a leap forward after scientists make new chromosome<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"