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monkey cells. Those monkey cell cultures were

contaminated with a virus called SV40, which we

now know can cause tumours. Thousands, if not

millions, of people were injected with SV40,

unbeknownst to them and everybody else until after

the fact emerged. Luckily, no one’s detected any

cancer coming from SV40, but it could have been a

disaster. If you had a cell line that was resistant to

viruses, you wouldn’t have to worry about that kind

of scenario.

Some people worry about cloning humans from
synthetic genomes. Is it really possible?
Yes, in principle. With the yeast project, we engaged
an international community and made all the
participants agree to a set of rules that we all
believed in. By taking the lead on a project like HGP-
Write, we can to some extent dictate terms like: “We
all agree we are not trying to create a person here, we
are doing this in cells, and that’s it.” You can manage
the safety concerns and the social concerns. Before
you go down a road of building something that’s even
mildly controversial, you engage with multiple
stakeholders to tr y to identify those projects that are
mutually interesting to members of the public and the
ILLUSTRATION: RAJA LOCKEY scientific community.

ABOVE: The cost of sequencing

human DNA has reduced over

the years, scientists now hope to

reduce the costs of writing it too

CHOCOHOLICS

Physicists from Temple University have reduced

the fat content of a Mars bar by more than 10 per

cent by zapping the liquid chocolate with

electricity. The effect is due to the cocoa solids

clumping together.

HIGH-HEELS LOVERS

For fashionistas, nothing quite matches the

elegance of a high-heeled shoe. The only problem is

they aren’t exactly comfy. Enter former SpaceX

employee Dolly Singh who has designed a stiletto

that offers more support and distributes weight more

evenly. The downside: they cost US$925.

PIZZA LOVERS

The University of Surrey has found that the wood-

burning ovens in São Paulo’s 8,000 pizzerias burn

over 300,000 tonnes of wood a year, pumping out

carbon and other air pollutants.

DISNEY PRINCESS FANS

If your child is obsessed with Elsa, maybe

encourage them to let it go. Brigham Young

University found that kids who often play with

Disney Princesses display more gender-

stereotypical behaviour and are more likely to have

body image issues.

BAD MONTH

GOOD MONTH