Through perseverance and more than 12 years of research, Dr. Romesberg and his team successfully incorporated X and Y into the genetic code of a single-celled organism. The organism is able to maintain and replicate the new DNA nucleotides only if X and Y are provided in the nutrients, creating a simple safeguard.
At TEDMED, Dr. Romesberg shares the science behind expanding the genetic alphabet from the four typical DNA nucleotides – A,T,G,C – to six that now include the synthetic nucleotides d5SICSTP and dNaMTP, which we call X and Y. This scientific breakthrough is being advanced by Synthorx to create novel therapeutics that may address many unmet medical needs.
- Dr. Romesberg caught up with TEDMED to discuss what the last year has held for this new technology. Read that interview here.
- To learn more about the path to expanding the genetic alphabet, watch Dr. Romesberg’s TEDMED talk here.