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Simpler and Faster Is What We Like to Hear

Dec 23, 2008

The University of Illinois' Huimin Zhao and his colleagues report on their new DNA assembler method in Nucleic Acids Research. Needing only simple DNA preparation and a one-step yeast transformation, this in vivo process can assemble an entire biochemical pathway of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in a single step by taking advantage of homologous recombination. "Assembling genes into a biochemical pathway using a DNA assembler is similar to building a toy train. Each cart is an equivalent of a gene, which is connected to each other in an ordered manner at the same time," Zhao tells Wired Science Blogs.

Breaking News
The Scan

Pig Organ Transplants Considered

The Wall Street Journal reports that the US Food and Drug Administration may soon allow clinical trials that involve transplanting pig organs into humans.

'Poo-Bank' Proposal

Harvard Medical School researchers suggest people should bank stool samples when they are young to transplant when they later develop age-related diseases.

Spurred to Develop Again

New Scientist reports that researchers may have uncovered why about 60 percent of in vitro fertilization embryos stop developing.

Science Papers Examine Breast Milk Cell Populations, Cerebral Cortex Cellular Diversity, Micronesia Population History

In Science this week: unique cell populations found within breast milk, 100 transcriptionally distinct cell populations uncovered in the cerebral cortex, and more.