Latest news with #JasonChin
Perth Now
13 hours ago
- Health
- Perth Now
Scientists attempting to create human DNA
Scientists are attempting to create human DNA. Teams from the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester and Kent, as well as Imperial College London, are set to spend five years writing genetic code. Called the SynHG project - which has £10 million funding behind it from the Wellcome Trust, a science charitable foundation - the group of scientists, hope to make human genetic code from raw chemicals. The project will be led by Jason Chin from Cambridge's Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology. However, some people have raised ethical concerns about synthetic genomics - the field in which "new, engineered organisms and cells designed to have a specific function" are created - such as "designer babies" On the other hand, those who back synthetic genomics say learning how to construct DNA will improve people's understanding of human biology. The supporters also think it could pave the way for treating diseases that do not currently have a cure.
The Independent
14 hours ago
- Science
- The Independent
Scientists aim to build full synthetic human chromosome with £10m
A controversial project to create the building blocks of human life, specifically synthetic human DNA, has commenced with an initial £10m grant from the Wellcome Trust. Scientists aim to build a full synthetic human chromosome within five to ten years, with the potential to transform understanding of human health and develop treatments for incurable diseases. The project, led by Professor Jason Chin, will allow researchers to create parts of DNA to study how genes regulate bodies, with all work confined to test tubes and petri dishes. Critics, including Professor Bill Earnshaw, fear the research could lead to enhanced humans or biological weapons, despite assurances that no synthetic life will be created. A dedicated social science project, led by Professor Joy Zhang, will run concurrently to gather public and expert views on the technology and address potential concerns.
Times
2 days ago
- Health
- Times
Controversial project sets out to create synthetic human DNA
Scientists have begun an attempt to create human genetic code from raw chemicals, as a once-taboo area of research gains fresh momentum. Backed by £10 million from the Wellcome Trust, the five-year SynHG project will work on creating tools to aid synthetic genomics — in which instead of editing existing DNA, researchers aim to write the genetic code from scratch. Every cell in the body contains DNA (except mature red blood cells and platelets), which provides the instructions for producing the proteins that form the building blocks of life. Flaws or mutations in this code are the cause of a wide range of diseases. • NHS to offer whole genome sequencing to every newborn baby Supporters of synthetic genomics argue that learning how to assemble DNA will help unlock its secrets, transforming our understanding of human biology and allowing the creation of novel treatments for diseases that currently have no cure. However, the idea of creating human genetic material in the lab has long raised ethical concerns, from the spectre of synthetic 'designer babies' to unforeseen effects on future generations. The new project, led by Professor Jason Chin of the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, will bring together teams from the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester and Kent and Imperial College London. The aim is not to build an entire synthetic human genome — a complete set of genetic instructions, written in DNA — but to lay the technical groundwork, starting with the construction of a single human chromosome. Alongside the technical work, a group led by Professor Joy Zhang of the University of Kent will scrutinise the moral, legal and social implications of genome synthesis. Wellcome, the world's largest medical research charity, believes the potential benefits of the project outweigh the risks. So far, scientists have successfully developed synthetic genomes for microbes such as E. coli, a type of bacteria. The field has accelerated in recent years, however, fuelled by advances in machine learning, data science and AI. Even so, today's technology is not able to produce large, more complex sections of genetic material, such as those that give rise to crops, animals and humans. Michael Dunn, director of discovery research at Wellcome, said: 'Our DNA determines who we are and how our bodies work and with recent technological advances, the SynHG project is at the forefront of one of the most exciting areas of scientific research. 'Through creating the necessary tools and methods to synthesise a human genome we will answer questions about our health and disease that we cannot even anticipate yet, in turn transforming our understanding of life and wellbeing.'
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
UK scientists to synthesise human genome to learn more about how DNA works
Researchers are embarking on an ambitious project to construct human genetic material from scratch to learn more about how DNA works and pave the way for the next generation of medical therapies. Scientists on the Synthetic Human Genome (SynHG) project will spend the next five years developing the tools and knowhow to build long sections of human genetic code in the lab. These will be inserted into living cells to understand how the code operates. Armed with the insights, scientists hope to devise radical new therapies for the treatment of diseases. Among the possibilities are living cells that are resistant to immune attack or particular viruses, which could be transplanted into patients with autoimmune diseases or with liver damage from chronic viral infections. 'The information gained from synthesising human genomes may be directly useful in generating treatments for almost any disease,' said Prof Jason Chin, who is leading the project at the MRC's Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge. Scientists have been able to read DNA for decades. The first draft of the human genome was announced 25 years ago, a feat that set the stage for the ongoing genetics revolution. But while the technology for reading genomes has progressed rapidly, writing them has proved more difficult. For the SynHG project, researchers will start by making sections of a human chromosome and testing them in human skin cells. The project involves teams from the universities of Cambridge, Kent, Manchester, Oxford and Imperial College London. Chin's team recently synthesised the complete genome of the E coli bacterium. But while the bug's genome carries about 4.5m base pairs, represented by the letters G, T, C and A, the human genome holds more than 3bn base pairs. 'If you think about the human genome, it's more than just a set of genes on a string,' said Dr Julian Sale, a group leader at the LMB. 'There's an awful lot of the genome, sometimes called the dark matter of the genome, that we don't know what it does. The idea is that if you can build genomes successfully, you can fully understand them.' Embedded in the project is a parallel research effort into the social and ethical issues that arise from making genomes in the laboratory, led by Prof Joy Zhang at the University of Kent. 'We're a little way off having anything tangible that can be used as a therapy, but this is the time to start the discussion on what we want to see and what we don't want to see,' Sale said. Prof Iain Brassington, who studies the ethics of genetic technology at the University of Manchester, welcomed the project. While real-world applications are some way off, he said the work could lead to synthetic versions of mitochondria, the tiny battery-like structures that power biological cells. These could be used to prevent women who carry mitochondrial diseases from passing them on to their children. 'The would-be mother would still need to undergo egg harvesting and IVF, but we'd no longer need a donor, so we'd halve the number of women burdened by the procedure,' he said. But the technology did pose problems, Brassington added. It might be possible to make bacteria that – thanks to their synthetic genomes – can digest petrochemicals, which could be useful for breaking down plastic waste and clearing up oil spills but would need to be handled extremely carefully. 'Such bugs getting into the environment could be catastrophic,' he said. The spectre of designer babies is another valid concern. Parents could potentially use the technology to shape their children before birth, raising questions over how much control they should have. In another 'slightly wild' idea, Brassington said celebrities might even start 'licensing' parts of their genome to allow people to copy their genes. 'There might also be situations in which a man discovers that he is the 'genetic' parent of a child of whom he knew nothing,' Brassington added. 'This could already happen, of course, but he would currently know how it happened. SynDNA enables us to imagine a situation in which a replica of someone's DNA could be used to father a child with no cellular contribution from him at all.' However, he said: 'Generally, I think the concerns about designer babies all rely on some fairly far-fetched technology. I'm not going to lose too much sleep over them.'
The Star
29-04-2025
- Business
- The Star
Sunway Malls to launch Sunway Square Mall in September
An artist's impression of Sunway Square Mall PETALING JAYA: Sunway Malls will be unveiling its 10th mall, the Sunway Square Mall, in September this year. To be located at Sunway City Kuala Lumpur, the mall will span 300,000 sq ft and have a net lettable area across four retail floors. Sunway Malls said Sunway Square Mall is already 95% leased. 'Unlike conventional malls, Sunway Square Mall places emphasis on leisure and entertainment as its key differentiator. The key tenants unveiled include Village Grocer, BUMP Bouldering, TGV Cinemas, The Library by BookXcess, COUNT, KKV, Tutu Toe Dance Academy and GoFit. 'With over 150 shops and 3,000 integrated parking bays, the mall aims to blend lifestyle with leisure to cultivate learning and growth. Simultaneously, Sunway Square Mall will feature a wide array of food and beverage (F&B) to cater to the surrounding office, student, and residential communities,' said Sunway Malls in a statement. The group added that Sunway Square Mall will comprise twin commercial towers, a world-class 1,200-seater performing arts centre and a 24-hour library with several million books. Sunway Malls chief executive officer HC Chan said Sunway Square Mall is part of Sunway Square, a visionary development designed to integrate a multifaceted range of spaces, catering to the arts, commerce, education and business. 'The mall plays a pivotal role as a trendy social hub in Sunway City Kuala Lumpur, reflecting the changing lifestyles of urban dwellers with leisure, food and entertainment offerings becoming increasingly important drivers. 'Across our malls, we saw a robust F&B performance persisting after the pandemic. Due to continuous resilient out-of-home dining, F&B outlets increased to above 25% of total mall tenants today. A decade ago, F&B only took up 15% of a mall.' Sunway Malls Selangor senior general manager Jason Chin said he is confident in the strategy to helm a mall specialising in leisure, food and entertainment. 'Looking at current trends, consumers today are often on a lookout for places to engage, either over a cup of coffee, a good meal, or via sports activities. 'They want to live what they see on their screens and share their experience via their own social platforms. The artistic designs of Sunway Square Mall combined with innovative elements and a vibrant tenant mix will serve this purpose.' Sunway Malls reported a full year growth of 5% in 2024 year-on-year. The year-end festivities saw December's sales performance growing by 5.6% year-on-year despite a shorter school holiday season. 'The momentum continued to the first quarter of 2025, with Chinese New Year and the school holidays,' said Sunway Malls.
