It's life Jim, but not as we know it.
May 21, 2010 1:35 AM Subscribe
It's life Jim, but not as we know it. Craig Venter, the controvercial geneticist and entrepeneur who was behind the commercial human genome sequencing project, has claimed that his team have created the first synthetic life form from scratch.
They report in the journal Science that they have built the genome of a bacterium from scratch and incorporated it into a cell. The potential applications are wide-ranging, but already ethical concerns are being raised. More news coverage here and here. The Science paper is here (possible paywall, sorry, but Science also published a podcast interview with the man, which should be open access).
Previously.
They report in the journal Science that they have built the genome of a bacterium from scratch and incorporated it into a cell. The potential applications are wide-ranging, but already ethical concerns are being raised. More news coverage here and here. The Science paper is here (possible paywall, sorry, but Science also published a podcast interview with the man, which should be open access).
Previously.
This post was deleted for the following reason: posted previously -- vacapinta
He's being a little grandiose, I think. I mean, it would probably be more precise to say that they created the first life form from parts – the only truly synthetic part is the genome, and while that is the important bit, it's a long, long way from creating a genome to creating a genome and the cell around it. He just manufactured a new form of bacteria genome, and successfully transplanted it in. But that's not to say that it's not an achievement, or that it's not an important moment.
posted by koeselitz at 1:45 AM on May 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by koeselitz at 1:45 AM on May 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
Patented bacteria. That's really what the world needs.
posted by cmonkey at 1:53 AM on May 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by cmonkey at 1:53 AM on May 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
Humans have been synthesizing lifeforms for as long as they've been procreating.
posted by spiderskull at 1:57 AM on May 21, 2010
posted by spiderskull at 1:57 AM on May 21, 2010
What koeselitz said.
Having listened to a discussion about this on the Today programme this morning I came away with the distinct impression that whilst Dr Venters skills in PR cannot be questioned - the actual discovery here whilst important is not the same as the media sell that is accompanying it.
posted by numberstation at 2:19 AM on May 21, 2010
Having listened to a discussion about this on the Today programme this morning I came away with the distinct impression that whilst Dr Venters skills in PR cannot be questioned - the actual discovery here whilst important is not the same as the media sell that is accompanying it.
posted by numberstation at 2:19 AM on May 21, 2010
Agreed. It's pretty amazing but the news (here in the UK anyway) then leapt to all kinds of incredible assumptions about the end of disease and/or possible apocalypses. Why do they do that? It's never enough with these people.
posted by ntrifle at 2:48 AM on May 21, 2010
posted by ntrifle at 2:48 AM on May 21, 2010
After several rounds, the scientists had pieced together all 1m letters of the bacterium's genome. To mark the genome as synthetic, they spliced in fresh strands of DNA, each a biological "watermark" that would do nothing in the final organism except carry coded messages, including a line from James Joyce: "To live, to err, to fall, to triumph, to recreate life out of life."
Tattoos of the future. Without question.
The complete scripts of Star Trek, expertly encoded into useless strands of DNA.
"The Illiad", woven into the genetic code of a pinky finger.
(The name of creepy women's husbands in the cells of their uterus, so they can talk about how he's "inside them" at all times.)
The future ain't exactly pretty, but it sure is the future.
posted by Rumpled at 2:53 AM on May 21, 2010
Tattoos of the future. Without question.
The complete scripts of Star Trek, expertly encoded into useless strands of DNA.
"The Illiad", woven into the genetic code of a pinky finger.
(The name of creepy women's husbands in the cells of their uterus, so they can talk about how he's "inside them" at all times.)
The future ain't exactly pretty, but it sure is the future.
posted by Rumpled at 2:53 AM on May 21, 2010
Also, in Less-Glib-Reaction Towne, this is pretty amazing.
I really wish ExxonMobil wasn't calling the shots when it comes to application, though.
posted by Rumpled at 2:55 AM on May 21, 2010
I really wish ExxonMobil wasn't calling the shots when it comes to application, though.
posted by Rumpled at 2:55 AM on May 21, 2010
We've just lost the War on Drugs, but not as badly as the drug lords have. I.e., this is going to be like BitTorrent for chemical substances.
posted by acb at 2:59 AM on May 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by acb at 2:59 AM on May 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
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posted by killdevil at 1:40 AM on May 21, 2010 [1 favorite]