[-empyre-] life, dna

[h w <misterwarwick@yahoo.com>]

How appropriate. A Scientist in the USA declares he is inventing
artificial life. I don't know if it is Really Truly Life he's making,
or about to make, but it is certainly interesting as his definitions
re-order nominal or common understandings of life, genetics, and
similar squishy things.

It seems that (as usual) scientific research romps on ahead regardless
of theory. 
<sigh> 
And it will be patented. 
<argh>

HW



http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/oct/06/genetics.climatechange


I am creating artificial life, declares US gene pioneer

· Scientist has made synthetic chromosome
· Breakthrough could combat global warming

    * Ed Pilkington in New York
    * The Guardian
    * Saturday October 6 2007

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."


       
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