Chinese scientists create 4 synthetic yeast chromosomes

A researcher with the Tianjin University's Yuan Yingjin team works in the laboratory of Tianjin University in Tianjin, north China, July 23, 2012. Chinese scientists have assembled four synthetic yeast chromosomes, making China the second country capable of designing and building eukaryotic genomes. The findings were published in Friday's edition of journal Science, marking a step closer to building synthetic life. In the study, researchers with Tianjin University, Tsinghua University and BGI-Shenzhen construct the synthetic active chromosomes through exactly matching the synthetic genome with the designed sequence for the first time. (Xinhua/Yuan Yingjin)