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Artificial genetic code creates new life form

US scientists have expanded the genetic code to create the first semi-synthetic life form.

A third artificial DNA base pairing (d5SICS and dNaM) has rendered life capable of existing beyond the naturally occurring guanine, cytosine, adenine and thymine bases.

The Scripps Research Institute team, led by Associate Professor Floyd E Romesberg, has been working to expand the genetic code since the late 1990s.

The knowledge of new DNA pairings uncovered by this research may trigger the creation of new proteins with potential applications in medicine and nanotechnology.

Read more at The Scripps Research Institute

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