Researchers have successfully operated two separate genetic codes simultaneously, a breakthrough that could accelerate synthetic biology work.[325437] This innovation allows scientists to avoid the need to re-engineer every single gene in a bacterial genome, a significant hurdle in the field.[325437][226085] The discovery was made possible by adding two new amino acids to a bacterial cell and making proteins with one amino acid less than usual.[325437][226085] The genetic code, which is used by every living thing on Earth, is a complex and essential component of life.[226085] The new approach uses the same genetic code for both sets of proteins, avoiding the need for workarounds to compensate for altering the code.[325437][226085]