Professor Kim Hyungbeom's Team Sponsored by Samsung Develops Disease Onset Time Measurement System

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] The research team led by Professor Hyungbeom Kim of Yonsei University College of Medicine, supported by the Samsung Future Technology Development Project, has developed the world's first system that measures the time when biological phenomena such as diseases and aging occur by altering DNA base sequences.

According to Samsung on the 4th, a paper titled "Recording Elapsed Time and Specific Biological Phenomenon Time Information Using Gene Editing Technology" by Professor Kim's team was published on the 3rd (local time) in the world-renowned life sciences journal Cell. This is the first time a research project supported by the Samsung Future Technology Development Project has been published in Cell.

This research is significant as it provides a breakthrough in accurately identifying the timing of biological phenomena such as human diseases and aging. Knowing when a disease occurs allows for the application of treatment methods according to the progression stage. The study was jointly conducted by Professors Inkyung Jung and Seongrae Cho of Yonsei University College of Medicine, Professor Taeyoung Park of Yonsei University Department of Applied Statistics, and Professor Sungro Yoon of Seoul National University Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Professor Hyungbeom Kim, Yonsei University College of Medicine

Professor Kim's team discovered that when changes occur in DNA base sequences, the normal base sequences decrease exponentially over time while mutations increase. For statistical analysis, they continuously tracked 23,940 different base sequences that underwent mutations caused by exposure to toxic substances or heat shock.

Based on the obtained data, they conducted statistical analysis and simulations to build a system that measures the timing of DNA base sequence changes occurring when organisms are exposed to various environments. They validated the system's effectiveness through experiments on mice, achieving an accuracy with an error rate within approximately 10%.

Professor Kim explained, "Using the same principle as radioactive isotope dating used to measure the age of fossils, we can now accurately determine the elapsed time of various phenomena occurring within living organisms," adding, "This can be applied to most biological research, including tracking disease progression and aging."

Considering industrial applications, Professor Kim has completed patent registration for this technology in Korea and is currently applying for patents overseas, including in the United States. This research has been supported since June 2017 as a project under the Samsung Future Technology Development Project.

This project is a public research support initiative launched by Samsung Electronics in 2013 with an endowment of 1.5 trillion KRW, aiming to foster and support scientific and technological research responsible for the nation's future. Each year, research projects are selected in the fields of basic science, materials, and ICT during the first and second halves of the year, and through an annual "designated theme project call," future technology fields necessary for the country are designated and supported.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.