These Scientists Created a Functional 'Designer' Chromosome

 - Apr 2, 2014
References: & sciencerecorder
A group of researchers from New York University decided to take on the field of genetics in a very different way by creating a designer chromosome. They are building an entire chromosome from scratch. The team used a computer to construct a purely synthetic structure that is based off a chromosome that can be found in the brewer's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Scientists, along with a host of undergraduate students, stitched short strands of DNA to complete the chromosome. This was a very time-consuming task, taking about seven years to complete. The project is part of a global initiative called Sc2.0. It aims to eventually be able to fabricate all of the yeast's chromosomes. So far, the focus has been on the smallest chromosome in the genome. This is the first time a chromosome has been developed for a 'eukaryote.'