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Scientists Build First Synthetic Life Form Laced With James Joyce Quotes

by Amar Toor on May 21, 2010 at 10:40 AM

Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-syn1.0
Researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute have just created an entirely new synthetic life form in a laboratory, marking a watershed moment that could radically alter the way humans interact with nature. As Wired reports, the achievement is a culmination of over two-years' worth of research, numerous failed attempts and millions of dollars. In March, however, the team injected over a million base pairs of their synthetic DNA into a group of Mycoplasma capricolum bacterial cells. When they came back to the office just two days later, they discovered that the cells were multiplying, creating an entirely new life form, which they preciously named, "Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-syn1.0."

The team of 25 scientists, led by Dan Gibson, pulled off the feat by rewriting the genetic code for Mycoplasma capricolum, and rearranging the pieces to create DNA fragments, which were held together with yeast and E. coli bacteria. They were even sly enough to encode three famous quotations in the DNA sequence itself, including "To live, to err, to fall, to triumph, to recreate life out of life," from James Joyce's 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.'

Technically, Gibson and his team didn't "create" an entirely new cell, since their species was dependent upon pre-existing bacteria. But that hasn't stopped many from heralding Gibson's results as a seismic event in human history. Physicist Freeman Dyson, in a commentary on Gibson, et al.'s study, says, "The ability to design and create new forms of life marks a turning-point in the history of our species and our planet." And, with scientists still striving to create a unique genome from the ground-up, experts insist this may only be the tip of the scientific iceberg.

Questions from ethicists, however, have already descended upon the researchers, and it's a safe bet that more than a few people will accuse these scientists of tampering with things that should be left to nature. As the Institute says, though, the technology could have implications across a wide array of fields, including "advanced biofuels, clean water technology and new vaccines and medicines." Ethical questions and concerns over this new technology getting into the hands of bioterrorists may be well-founded. But instead of worrying about what could happen, let's all take a moment to marvel at the unbelievable thing that just did happen. [From: Wired, CNET and BoingBoing]

Tags: Achievements, bacteria, biology, chemistry, dna, ethics, genetics, genome, j craig venter, j craig venter institute, JCraigVenter, JCraigVenterInstitute, laboratories, laboratory, life, milestone, science, synthetic, top

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