Researchers have found a way to operate two separate genetic codes simultaneously in a cell-free system, a significant advancement in synthetic biology that avoids the need to re-engineer every gene in a genome. While not yet tested in living cells, this creative approach could accelerate work in engineering organisms with expanded genetic codes for novel protein production.
Background
The genetic code has been largely considered immutable since evolution established it in the last universal common ancestor. Previous attempts to expand the genetic code required extensive genome-wide re-engineering, making the process extremely labor-intensive.
- Source
- Ars Technica
- Published
- Aug 26, 2026 at 11:00 PM
- Score
- 8.0 / 10