Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and colleagues have added synthetic genes to yeast to make a key malaria drug.

The genes encode enzymes that enable sugar to be converted into a precursor to artemisinin, used to treat multi-drug resistant malaria. This synthetic organism could be producing enough artemisinin precursor to fulfill worldwide needs for the drug within three years.

Unlike traditional genetic engineering methods, the inserted genes are synthesized from scratch to make them easier for the yeast to read.