I am creating artificial life, declares US gene pioneer

source: The Guardian
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.
A brave new world indeed ... a long way away from being able to make a microbe that will eat gargarge and CO2 and excrete something useful ... but i'm glad that scientists have at least discovered how to set write permissions in God's DNA. 

Tags

  1. biology
  2. dna
  3. artificial
  4. artificial biology

Comments


Mark de LA says
I would be interested in exactly where the "lab chemicals" he made the DNA with came from (chopped up pieces of DNA?).  Making garbage DNA genes and planting them into an already living cell does not create new life. At most he has successfully created his own personal version of cancer.  Mucking with the DNA has been around for Cancer therapy for quite a while.  This guy is probably just trying to get patents with headlines.


Mark de LA says
It's just the claim "I am creating artificial life" that is specious.  To get life he had to have life to begin with.  Let him start with chemicals that have never been in a living cell & have them become living without being injected into a living cell & then I will believe his specious claim!  It's hard to make DNA without having DNA to start.


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