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The US flag displays 13 stripes - for the original 13 states. |
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I am creating artificial life, declares US gene pioneer
Posted on Sunday, October 07, 2007 (CDT) by Thoth
 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. The team of scientists has already successfully transplanted the
genome of one type of bacterium into the cell of another, effectively
changing the cell's species. Mr Venter said he was "100% confident" the
same technique would work for the artificially created chromosome.
The new life form will
depend for its ability to replicate itself and metabolise on the
molecular machinery of the cell into which it has been injected, and in
that sense it will not be a wholly synthetic life form. However, its
DNA will be artificial, and it is the DNA that controls the cell and is
credited with being the building block of life.
Mr Venter said he had
carried out an ethical review before completing the experiment. "We
feel that this is good science," he said. He has further heightened the
controversy surrounding his potential breakthrough by applying for a
patent for the synthetic bacterium.
Pat Mooney, director of a
Canadian bioethics organisation, ETC group, said the move was an
enormous challenge to society to debate the risks involved.
"Governments, and society in general, is way behind the ball. This is a
wake-up call - what does it mean to create new life forms in a
test-tube?"
He said Mr Venter was
creating a "chassis on which you could build almost anything. It could
be a contribution to humanity such as new drugs or a huge threat to
humanity such as bio-weapons".
Mr Venter believes designer
genomes have enormous positive potential if properly regulated. In the
long-term, he hopes they could lead to alternative energy sources
previously unthinkable. Bacteria could be created, he speculates, that
could help mop up excessive carbon dioxide, thus contributing to the
solution to global warming, or produce fuels such as butane or propane
made entirely from sugar.
"We are not afraid to take
on things that are important just because they stimulate thinking," he
said. "We are dealing in big ideas. We are trying to create a new value
system for life. When dealing at this scale, you can't expect everybody
to be happy."
Copyright: The Guardian
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Re: I am creating artificial life, declares US gene pioneer
by Curlybird on Sunday, October 07, 2007 (CDT)
(User Info | Send a Message) | | Whenever I read an article such as this I am reminded of the adage, "Science asks the question, can we, while the Spiritual practices ask the question, should we." I think this applies very much to this discovery. Should we? I think not. |
Re: I am creating artificial life, declares US gene pioneer (Score: 1)
by mabung on Thursday, October 11, 2007 (CDT)
(User Info | Send a Message) | He hasn't actually created anything.
What he has had done, is basically strip down a particular strand of naturally occuring DNA to its' bare minimum, then transplant it into another, as a host.
In literal;terms, he has modified a gene, to become a parasite, then overtake the host.
So how has he "created" anything?
Just a case of "ego blusteritis". |
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