Chinese Scientists Create Four Synthetic Yeast Chromosomes

Chinese scientists have assembled four synthetic yeast chromosomes， so making China the second country after the United States capable of designing and building eukaryotic genomes.

The findings， published in the journal Science， constitute one step closer to building synthetic life.

Researchers from Tianjin University， Tsinghua University， and BGI-Shenzhen involved in the study have constructed the synthetic active eukaryotic chromosomes by first exactly matching the synthetic genome with the designed sequence.

“If genome sequencing is like reading the code of life， then genome synthesizing is writing the code of life. Moving from reading to writing is a breakthrough，”said Yang Huanming， an academic with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

In 2010， U.S. scientists succeeded in implanting a synthetic genome in a prokaryotic bacterium， so marking the first step in the chemical synthesis of live organisms.

“The latest study has addressed the fundamental problems of synthesizing unicelluar eukaryotic organisms， so laying a foundation for the future design and building of cells for more complex multicelluar organisms， including those of animals， plants and fungi，” said Yuan Yingjin， a professor with Tianjin University.

The new effort is part of a larger project to redesign and reengineer yeast chromosomes called the Synthetic Yeast Genome Project. Several research institutes， in China and the United States， have participated.

Brewers yeast has long served as an important research model， because although its cells share many features with human cells， they are simpler and easier to study.

“Synthetic yeast chromosomes will facilitate studies on chromosome abnormalities and repairs to the genome. This will provide models for research and treatment of present medical challenges， such as epilepsy， cancer， mental disorders， and aging，” Yuan said.

Researchers believe that synthetic biology will provide solutions to global problems， including energy shortages and pollution.

For example， with the help of technological development， modified brewers yeast made from synthetic chromosomes will one day， through fermentation， help to produce various kinds of food and energy at a lower cost， Yang said.

New Underwater Gliding Depth Record

Chinas domestic underwater glider reached a depth of 6，329 meters during a mission in the Mariana Trench， breaking the previous record of 6，000 meters held by a U.S. vessel， according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences（CAS）.

Codenamed Haiyi （Chinese for sea wings） the underwater glider was developed by the Shenyang Institute of Automation under CAS. It is used to monitor the deep-sea environment over vast areas.

The Haiyi， carried by deepsea submersible mother ship Tansuo-1， dived 12 times and traveled over 130 kilometers during its 87-hour mission， collecting high-resolution data for scientific research.

First Cargo Spacecraft to Make Three Rendezvous with Tiangong-2

Chinas first cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-1 is expected to dock with the orbiting Tiangong-2 space lab three times after its planned launch in April， sources said on March 4.

Tianzhou-1 will be launched into space from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in south Chinas Hainan Province aboard a Long March-7 Y2 carrier rocket， according to a spokesperson for Chinas manned space program.

Tiangong-2 has been scheduled for three refuelings and the carrying out of experiments and tests. During the journey， Tianzhou-1 will orbit solo for about three months and together with Tiangong-2 for about two months after their rendezvous. At the end of the mission， Tianzhou-1 will leave the orbit and return to Earth， while Tiangong-2 will remain in orbit and continue its experiments.

The Tianzhou-1 mission will complete the second phase of the countrys manned space program. This is crucial to Chinas final step towards establishing a space station around 2022.

Largest 5G Tests Set out

China has established the worlds largest 5G test field in the race to standardize mobile communications technology， the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology （MIIT） said on March 3.

Industry giants， including Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp， are participating in the test programs at the outdoor test site in Huairou District of Beijing.

The tests， set to take place between 2016 and 2018， include the three stages respectively of key technology verification， technological solution verification， and system verification， said Zhang Feng， chief engineer of the MIIT. The first stage， entailing verification of the feasibility of essential techniques， having been completed， the second stage of tests has begun.

China has started early preparations for the 5G network. The country established the IMT-2020 （5G） Promotion Group in February 2013 to coordinate efforts by mobile service operators， manufacturers， and research institutes.

Years of investment have put China in pole position to formulate the industry standard and reap the benefits of a network that provides much faster connectivity with lower energy consumption. China aims to commercialize 5G mobile networks as early as 2020.

From AR/VR and driverless cars， to the industrial Internet and smart cities， 5G is expected to support significantly faster mobile broadband speeds and increasingly extensive mobile data usage – as well as to enable the full potential of the Internet of Things.