First Artificial Living Cells Created

[berni_mccoy]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37256799/ns/technology_and_science-science

It may not quite be "Frankenstein," but for the first time scientists have created an organism controlled by completely human-made DNA.

Using the tools of synthetic biology, scientists from the J. Craig Venter Institute installed a completely artificial genome inside a host cell without DNA. Like the bolt of lightning that awakened Frankenstein, the new genome invigorated the host cell, which began to grow and reproduce, albeit with a few problems.
...
"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."


"Blue colonies indicate a successfully transplanted genome in bacteria."

I dunno... looks like the bright blue eyes of the FSM.

[AndyA]

1. Artificial living cells: So the truth about Ann Coulter is finally out!

:rofl:

[Ian David]

2. Oobi... you... FRIENDS!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

4. lovely.

[kenny blankenship]

3. Will fundamentalosts take this lying down?

This area of "creating life" is a very touchy subject. And while a secular person like myself may worry about the building blocks of Life in the hands of corporate driven science, religious fundamentalists are apt to see an assault on their world view and on God's supremacy over man. Sometimes when they are upset this way, some of them go and do crazy violent stuff by way revenge. They may believe that an announcement like this (or a successful abiogenesis experiment) is a sign of the Apocalypse, or else that it's their duty to take revenge on God's behalf and initiate the Endtimes.

Another technological breakthough that could prompt a wave of religiously insane violence would be the announcement of in vitro conception of a human offspring of two parents of the same sex.

I'm sure there could be other inciting events. But the most reliable subjects for detonating their pent-up crazy seems to have to do with the human naughty bits and their male God's supreme and exclusive role in the creation of life in the universe.

Either they will go berserk in reaction to the challenge to God, or just roll over and give up the Holy Ghost for good.


"Blue colonies indicate a successfully transplanted genome in bacteria."
Or maybe it's just the money you could be saving by switching to Geico?

[thereismore]

5. Interesting, but no. They took information from nature, stripped it down,

synthetized an artificial chromosome, and put it in a gutted cell. They did not create the cell, which contains all the necessary proteins to live, and they did not create the information that they put in. They just synthetized the damn DNA. The CODE was taken from nature (and put into the computer by man). So what did they create? Only a potential to create something in the future, if they only knew what code to try...