Latest news with #WellcomeTrust
The Independent
a day 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.
NDTV
a day ago
- Health
- NDTV
Controversy Erupts As Scientists Start Work To Create Artificial Human DNA
Scientists have begun work on a controversial project that aims to create human DNA from scratch. World's largest medical charity, the Wellcome Trust, has donated Rs 117 crore (10 million pounds) to start the project, which involves scientists from universities including Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial College. Regarded as the building blocks of human life, DNA is made up of repeating units called nucleotides, which contain all the genetic information that physically makes us who we are. Scientists involved in the Synthetic Human Genome Project are now attempting to create a fully synthetic human chromosome, making up about two per cent of human DNA, as proof of concept. The ultimate aim is to maybe one day, create all of it from scratch. "The sky is the limit. We are looking at therapies that will improve people's lives as they age, that will lead to healthier ageing with less disease as they get older," Dr Julian Sale, of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, who is part of the project, told the BBC. "We are looking to use this approach to generate disease-resistant cells we can use to repopulate damaged organs, for example, in the liver and the heart, even the immune system," he said. As per Professor Matthew Hurles, director of the Wellcome Sanger Insititute, studying how genes and DNA regulate our bodies could help us pinpoint when they go wrong and ultimately develop better treatments. "Building DNA from scratch allows us to test out how DNA really works and test out new theories, because currently we can only really do that by tweaking DNA in DNA that already exists in living systems," said Mr Hurles. However, not everyone is seemingly convinced by the idea of humans playing gods. Professor Bill Earnshaw, a genetic scientist at Edinburgh University who designed a method for creating artificial chromosomes, said the technology could be commercialised quickly by healthcare companies. "The genie is out of the bottle. We could have a set of restrictions now, but if an organisation who has access to appropriate machinery decided to start synthesising anything, I don't think we could stop them." Dr Pat Thomas, director of the campaign group Beyond GM, said even though scientists are there to work for the good of humans, the project may cause "harm". "We like to think that all scientists are there to do good, but the science can be repurposed to do harm and for warfare," said Dr Thomas. Social media reacts Reacting to the news, a section of social media users said the experiments could go wrong, while others expressed optimism that it could lead to a better quality of life for people. "Corporate grown employees coming soon. What a wonderful world we live in," said one user while another added: "Can't see this going wrong in a sci-fi horror type way at all." A third commented: "This is so cool. I hated growing up with eczema. It would've improved my life so much to not have that issue."
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Science
- Irish Independent
Synthetic DNA research could lead to the creation of artificial life, Irish professor says
There's nothing to stop scientists creating artificial life, said an Irish scientist after a UK charity announced support for a project to create synthetic DNA. The Wellcome Trust – a London-based charity that funds health research with legacy funding from deceased pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome – is to provide £10m (€8.5m) for the new Synthetic Human Genome Project (SynHG). The news was first reported yesterday by the BBC.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Health
- Telegraph
Human genetic code to be built from scratch
The human genetic code will be built from scratch by British scientists in a controversial new research project. The £10 million scheme to synthesise DNA is being funded by the Wellcome Trust and involves scientists from universities including Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial College. Since the human genome was decoded at the start of the century, researchers have questioned whether it might be possible to use the blueprint to create genes and chromosomes artificially. In the five year project, the team hopes to create a fully synthetic human chromosome - making up about 2 per cent of human DNA - as a proof of concept. Michael Dunn, director of discovery research at Wellcome, said: ' Our DNA determines who we are and how our bodies work. '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.' Researchers say synthetic genomes could help create new cell-based therapies or engineer plant species with new properties, such as being able to withstand pests and warming climates. Synthetic genomes have already been developed for small organisms such as the sexually transmitted bacterium Mycoplasma genitalium and But the human genome is much more complicated. However, experts said it is crucial to make sure the technology is not abused and that regulations are put in place. 'You can only truly understand something if you can build it from scratch,' said Prof Robin Lovell-Badge, group leader of the Francis Crick Institute in London. 'It is critical when developing new technology to understand not just issues of potential utility, but also those concerned with safety and risk. 'If these were to ever be used in humans, it would be important to design them carefully so that they can't lead to tumours or produce novel infectious particles. 'Indeed, I would urge incorporating an inducible genetic kill switch to eliminate them from any location in the body or at least to make them easy for the immune system to find and destroy.' The Wellcome Trust said it was commissioning a separate project to look into the ethics and public opinion on the research. Dr Pat Thomas, director of the campaign group Beyond GM, told the BBC: 'We like to think that all scientists are there to do good, but the science can be repurposed to do harm and for warfare'.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Controversial project could create human DNA from scratch
A controversial project that aims to create the building blocks of human life has started. It was previously thought creating human DNA could lead to designer babies or unforeseen complications and changes for future generations. However, in a world first, medical charity the Wellcome Trust, has given an initial £10m to start the project. Scientists say it has the potential to transform the understanding of human health, open opportunities to develop treatments for incurable diseases and develop climate-resistant crops. 'Our DNA determines who we are and how our bodies work,' said Michael Dunn, director of discovery research at Wellcome. '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.' In the next five to ten years scientists aim to build a full synthetic human chromosome. Every cell in the human body contains DNA, which is a molecule that carries genetic information that physically makes people who they are. The new Synthetic Human Genome Project will potentially allow researchers not just to be able to read DNA but create parts of it. Scientists will first aim to create larger blocks of human DNA to try to create a synthetically constructed a human chromosome – which contains genes that govern our development, repair and maintenance. These chromosomes would then be studied to find out how genes and DNA regulate our bodies. The project is led by Professor Jason Chin from the Generative Biology Institute at Ellison Institute of Technology and the University of Oxford, in collaboration with team of researchers from Cambridge, Kent, Manchester, Oxford and Imperial College London. 'The ability to synthesize large genomes, including genomes for human cells, may transform our understanding of genome biology and profoundly alter the horizons of biotechnology and medicine,' said Professor Chin. The project will be confined to test tubes and petri dishes, with no attempt to create synthetic life. But critics fear the research opens the way for researchers to create enhanced or modified humans. Professor Bill Earnshaw, a genetic scientist at Edinburgh University who designed a method for creating artificial human chromosomes fears this research could open the opportunity to attempt to create biological weapons, enhanced humans or even creatures that have human DNA. "The genie is out of the bottle," he told BBC News. "We could have a set of restrictions now, but if an organisation who has access to appropriate machinery decided to start synthesising anything, I don't think we could stop them." There will also be a dedicated social science project running alongside the researchers led by Professor Joy Zhang, a sociologist, at the University of Kent. "We want to get the views of experts, social scientists and especially the public about how they relate to the technology and how it can be beneficial to them and importantly what questions and concerns they have," she said.
