I am creating artificial life, declare US gene pioneer

Yarek Waszul Source: www. The economist.com

The first synthetic chromosome has been built out of laboratory chemicals, it can be concidered the first new artificial life form on Earth. This announcement will 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. Craig Vender, an American DNA researcher involved in deciphering the human genetic code, is the leader of a team of 20 top scientists involved in this creation.

The synthetic chromosome 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. The wholly synthetically reconstructed chromosome, 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 become a new life form.

Some people believe Mr Vender has created a chassis on which almost anything could be built, from new drugs for the treatment of multiple diseases to bio-weapons that could be used as a threat to humanity. Although I agree with this belief, I think that carefully controlled this improvement can be a great contribution to humanity instead than a threat. In my opinion the threat in fact is the manipulation that corrupted powers could make of it.

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán - Review nº 2
Source: www.guardian.co.uk