move the needle
人工の染色体に関する記事です。イースト菌の染色体の一部を人工的に作りだしたという内容です。以前はバクテリアのような単純な生物の染色体しか人工的に作ることはできなかったため，イースト菌でこれを実現できたことは画期的だそうです。記事の中で気になった表現は”move the needle”です。SPACEALCで調べると「（比喩）目立った変化をもたらす」というものがありました。「（地震計などの）針を動かす」という意味から生じた比喩的な表現だと思います。（Ume）
Scientists hail synthetic chromosome advance
The new cell was then observed to reproduce, passing a key test of viability.
Yeast is a favoured target for this research because of its well-established use in key industries such as brewing and baking and its potential for future industrial applications.
One company in California has already used synthetic biology to create a strain of yeast that can produce artemisinin, an ingredient for an anti-malarial drug.
The synthesis of chromosome III in yeast was undertaken by an international team and the findings are published in the journal Science (yeast chromosomes are normally designated by Roman numerals).
Chucking the junk
Dr Jef Boeke of the Langone Medical Centre at New York University, who led the team, described the achievement as "moving the needle in synthetic biology from theory to reality".
