Scientists create the world's first synthetic life form

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VonPickle

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Scientists have created the world's first synthetic life form in a landmark experiment that paves the way for designer organisms that are built rather than evolved.

The controversial feat, which has occupied 20 scientists for more than 10 years at an estimated cost of $40m, was described by one researcher as "a defining moment in biology".

Craig Venter, the pioneering US geneticist behind the experiment, said the achievement heralds the dawn of a new era in which new life is made to benefit humanity, starting with bacteria that churn out biofuels, soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and even manufacture vaccines.

However critics, including some religious groups, condemned the work, with one organisation warning that artificial organisms could escape into the wild and cause environmental havoc or be turned into biological weapons. Others said Venter was playing God.

The new organism is based on an existing bacterium that causes mastitis in goats, but at its core is an entirely synthetic genome that was constructed from chemicals in the laboratory.

The single-celled organism has four "watermarks" written into its DNA to identify it as synthetic and help trace its descendants back to their creator, should they go astray.

"We were ecstatic when the cells booted up with all the watermarks in place," Dr Venter told the Guardian. "It's a living species now, part of our planet's inventory of life."

Dr Venter's team developed a new code based on the four letters of the genetic code, G, T, C and A, that allowed them to draw on the whole alphabet, numbers and punctuation marks to write the watermarks. Anyone who cracks the code is invited to email an address written into the DNA.

The research is reported online today in the journal Science.

"This is an important step both scientifically and philosophically," Dr Venter told the journal. "It has certainly changed my views of definitions of life and how life works."

The team now plans to use the synthetic organism to work out the minimum number of genes needed for life to exist. From this, new microorganisms could be made by bolting on additional genes to produce useful chemicals, break down pollutants, or produce proteins for use in vaccines.

Julian Savulescu, professor of practical ethics at Oxford University, said: "Venter is creaking open the most profound door in humanity's history, potentially peeking into its destiny. He is not merely copying life artificially ... or modifying it radically by genetic engineering. He is going towards the role of a god: creating artificial life that could never have existed naturally."

This is "a defining moment in the history of biology and biotechnology", Mark Bedau, a philosopher at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, told Science.

Dr Venter became a controversial figure in the 1990s when he pitted his former company, Celera Genomics, against the publicly funded effort to sequence the human genome, the Human Genome Project. Venter had already applied for patents on more than 300 genes, raising concerns that the company might claim intellectual rights to the building blocks of life.
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A remarkable step forward, but unnerving that it comes from the man who tried to patent genes and refers to the cells as "booting up" :)
 
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Very interesting although I (from a personal perspective) do not agree with it and doubt the viability of this organism.

OT: Venter? South-African perhaps? :confused:
 
The only thing that would worry me is this thing escaping and causing havoc. They need to be very, very careful.

As for playing god... ever eaten a banana?
 
Cheri_N said:
OT: Venter? South-African perhaps? :confused:
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Was thinking the exact same thing, I actually know a Craig Venter.

As for the things breaking out of the lab, well at least he coded watermarks into the DNA so if the world does go to hell, we can find the guy responsible and kick his face.
 
Ancalagon said:
The only thing that would worry me is this thing escaping and causing havoc. They need to be very, very careful.

As for playing god... ever eaten a banana?
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There are suicide genes built into it, it cannot survive outside of 'where it should be'.

OT: Venter? South-African perhaps?
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No he's Canadian or American as far as I can tell.

A remarkable step forward, but unnerving that it comes from the man who tried to patent genes and refers to the cells as "booting up"
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Yeah man it's incredible innit? He has literally created another lifeform by splicing various areas of dna together, and created an organism, a tiny organic machine with purpose. Insert the dna into the nucleus of the cell and it literally 'boots up'. The dna contains all the software (created by Venter) and the chromosome just does what the dna tells it to, mind blowing stuff imho!
Venter is teh genius, there's a talk from him on ted, nice guy!
 
Ancalagon said:
The only thing that would worry me is this thing escaping and causing havoc. They need to be very, very careful.
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I agree. Its awesome terrible! This is an incredible step for humanity! Weather it will result in a fat burning, muscle toning flu virus, or the end of civilization!
Awesome terrible. (Bring it on)
 
VonPickle said:
Was thinking the exact same thing, I actually know a Craig Venter.

As for the things breaking out of the lab, well at least he coded watermarks into the DNA so if the world does go to hell, we can find the guy responsible and kick his face.
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You seem to misunderstand what a DNA water mark is. A "genetic marker" is the correct term and is usually a antibiotic resistance gene or a fluorescent marker. Antibiotic resistance is used as a selection marker to ensure the microorganism you have transformed contains the gene that you have cloned into it. Fluorescent markers are used to show that a protein is being expressed and where in the cell it is being expressed by means of visualisation with a fluorescent microscope.
 
So it's really just the "creation" of a new species then, not the creation of life form inorganic material. Trust the media to blow things out of proportion.

Still mind-blowing though.
 
VonPickle said:
Thanks I'll take a look, was just the fact that they even coded an Email address into the DNA that leads me to believe that these synthetics can be traced back to the creators.
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I don't where u read anything about an email address as it utter lies! U cant code anything into DNA! DNA can only be made up of four dNTPs adenine guanine tyrosine and cytosine. A C T or G. Thats it.
 
VonPickle said:
Was thinking the exact same thing, I actually know a Craig Venter.
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There is a Craig Venter who is the CEO of Altech. He is the son of Bill Venter (the CEO of the Altron group) but he is just a businessman with a rich daddy. Not up to this.
 
Is this the start of nanotech bots like in the new knight rider where things can heal itself
 
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