Chen Manqi

mandychen146899@gmail.com

IT has been barely over a year since optoelectronics expert and academician of Shenzhen University Niu Hanben passed away, researchers at the university’s optoelectronics institute have made groundbreaking progress.

The institute was founded and led by Niu, when he joined Shenzhen University as the city’s first academician in 1999.

Their innovations surrounded a genetic-abnormality-diagnostic tool called the Fluorescent in situ Hybridisation (FISH). “Researchers have expanded the capabilities of a diagnostic tool [FISH] to capture the first high-resolution, 3-D images of the shortest nonrepetitive genomic sequence in a human or mouse’s nuclear genome,” reported eLife, an overseas journal focused on publishing research in the life and biomedical sciences.

The improved technology enables the detection of genetic abnormalities the same way intelligence agencies spot suspects among millions of innocent people. This makes it possible in the future to identify and stifle cancer cells in their cradles, before they develop into tumors.

FISH detects abnormalities in the chromosomes or genes through the use of fluorescent probes. These probes “bind to specific parts of the chromosome to detect the presence or absence of DNA sequences,” read the report.

By developing FISH, researchers at the institute have managed to capture the shortest specific genome segment as of yet, increasing the resolution of the shot to 4.9 kilobasepairs from the previous 2.5 kilobasepairs. The super-resolution comes with reduced noise and models in 3-D compared to the previous 2-D shot.

“It means an immense reduction in the cost of separating cancer cells in patients,” said Dr. Niu Gang, son of Niu Hanben, also a researcher in the life science field, “from millions to a few hundred.”

The innovations made by the team are not limited to science, however. According to Niu Gang, the project signifies a successful interbreeding of disciplines.

“The future of science relies on interdisciplinary cooperation,” said Niu Gang. “Our project provides a model for collaborative efforts among different branches.” In developing FISH technology, the optoelectronics team has worked to create a solution to fundamental issues raised by a biology team at Tsinghua University and the University of Hong Kong.