With a breakthrough that would make Dr Frankenstein proud, scientists in the US have pushed the boundaries of modern science by successfully implanting a synthetic genome into an emptied bacterium cell.
Discovery Channel will be exploring this artificial life breakthrough in a dedicated show, Creating Synthetic Life, on Monday 7th June at 8pm (UK).
For the first time ever, scientists have created artificial life with an organism that's controlled entirely by man-made DNA.
The US based scientists, working at the J. Craig Venter Institute, used the tools of synthetic biology to install the artificial genome inside a host cell from which they had completely removed the DNA. This artificial genome invigorated the host cell, which then began to grow and reproduce.
There were a few problems. Several of the synthesized genes didn't work properly, but there is no doubt that artificial life was successfully created.
'This is the first synthetic cell that's been made,' said Venter. 'We call it synthetic because the cell is totally derived from a synthetic chromosome, made with four bottles of chemicals on a chemical synthesizer, starting with information in a computer.'
How will this affect the human race?
J. Crag Venter has partnered with both a pharmaceutical company and a major oil and gas company in order to raise funding for further research into what can be done with this new-found breakthrough.
It is thought that Venter's creation of artificial life could allow scientists to create more useful bacteria that can reduce the cost and speed up the production of biofuels, vaccines and drugs.
What do you think? Is the J. Craig venter Institute playing God by creating artificial life? Has science gone a step too far or is this the gateway to a future of untold possibility?
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