*T**he genetic code that all life on this planet obeys is composed of a triplet of nucleotide bases, and there are 4 bases thus there are 64 (4*4*4) different triplets but, although there are about 500 different amino acids, life only uses 20 of them, so the genetic code is very redundant. For example, 6 different triplet of bases (TCT, TCC, TCA, TCG, AGT and AGC) code for the same amino acid, serine. In all 61 different codons symbolize 20 amino acids, and another 3 codons tell our cells they have reached the end of the gene, so in all we've got 64. *
*In Thursday's issue of the Journal Science scientists report they manufactured something that has never been seen on this earth before, they have genetically engineered E. coli, the most common bacteria in the human body, so that it only uses 57 triplets not 64. They call their new creation Syn57 and although it is alive it is not as robust as the natural variety; under ideal conditions E. coli takes one hour to double its population but Syn57 takes 4. They think they may be able to toughen it up and use the unused codons to symbolize 7 new amino acids in addition to the 20 that life already uses. * *Escherichia coli with a 57-codon genetic code* <https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4368> *John K Clark See what's on my new list at Extropolis <https://groups.google.com/g/extropolis>* 4x7 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/everything-list/CAJPayv1LHZqi3XpG_y_HB19FxZKYm3WOZzc0%3Did2xES2_7k7cw%40mail.gmail.com.
