Posted on 10/07/2007 6:01:33 PM PDT by beavus
Craig Venter, the controversial DNA researcher involved in the race to decipher the human genetic code, has built a synthetic chromosome out of laboratory chemicals and is poised to announce the creation of the first new artificial life form on Earth. The announcement, which is expected within weeks and could come as early as Monday at the annual meeting of his scientific institute in San Diego, California, will herald a giant leap forward in the development of designer genomes. It is certain to provoke heated debate about the ethics of creating new species and could unlock the door to new energy sources and techniques to combat global warming. Mr Venter told the Guardian he thought this landmark would be "a very important philosophical step in the history of our species. We are going from reading our genetic code to the ability to write it. That gives us the hypothetical ability to do things never contemplated before". The Guardian can reveal that a team of 20 top scientists assembled by Mr Venter, led by the Nobel laureate Hamilton Smith, has already constructed a synthetic chromosome, a feat of virtuoso bio-engineering never previously achieved. Using lab-made chemicals, they have painstakingly stitched together a chromosome that is 381 genes long and contains 580,000 base pairs of genetic code. The DNA sequence is based on the bacterium Mycoplasma genitalium which the team pared down to the bare essentials needed to support life, removing a fifth of its genetic make-up. The wholly synthetically reconstructed chromosome, which the team have christened Mycoplasma laboratorium, has been watermarked with inks for easy recognition. It is then transplanted into a living bacterial cell and in the final stage of the process it is expected to take control of the cell and in effect become a new life form.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
"...It is then transplanted into a living bacterial cell and in the final stage of the process it is expected to take control of the cell and in effect become a new life form.
No, you're modifying existing life.
“No, you’re modifying existing life.”
Correct, it’s like a mechanic pulled a piston out of a car engine, discovered it was the same size as would fit in another car engine, slapped it in and told the world “I made a new engine”.
This dude’s yankin’ our collective cranks (no pun untended).
More like pulling the whole engine out, actually.
see:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1907551/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1907249/posts
engine, transmission, cooling system, fuel system, tires ... everything but the chassis.
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