US researchers have developed the first self-replicating bacteria cell controlled by a synthetic genome, but denied on Thursday they were playing God or seeking to recreate life in a test tube.
“This is the first synthetic cell that’s been made,” said lead researcher Craig Venter, unveiling the culmination of 15 years of research. “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.”
The method could be used to design bacteria specifically to help produce biofuels or to clean up environmental hazards, said the study carried out by the J. Craig Venter Institute and published in the journal Science.
Potential applications include producing algae to clean up carbon dioxide, one of the main greenhouse gases blamed for global warming, or making new clean energy hydrocarbons for refineries.
Researchers also hope to work on techniques to speed up the production of vaccines, and to make new food ingredients and chemical substances.
“This becomes a very powerful tool for trying to design what we want biology to do,” said Venter, co-author of the first sequencing of the human genome in 2000.
Critics, however, warned that he and his team were opening up a Pandora’s box by paving the way toward building artificial organisms that are still not properly understood.
In an interview with the BBC, Venter defended himself from accusations that he was “playing God.”
“That’s a term that comes up every time there is a new medical or scientific breakthrough associated with biology,” he said. “It’s been a goal of humanity from the earlier stages to try and control nature ... that’s how we got domesticated animals. This is the next stage in our understanding, it is a baby step in our understanding of how life fundamentally works and maybe how we can get some new handles on trying to control these microbial systems to benefit humanity.”
The researchers synthesized the 1.08 million base pair genome of the bacterium Mycoplasma mycoides — which commonly causes mastitis in goats — created from four bottles of the chemicals which make up the components of DNA.
They also added “watermarks” to the synthetic genome to distinguish it from a natural one. The watermarks included the names of 46 authors and scientists who worked on the project along with its own Web site address — so that anyone who decodes it can send an e-mail to the team.
Three sets of quotations, including “to live, to err, to fall, to triumph, to recreate life out of life” from Irish author James Joyce were also included.
Venter told a press conference the team had started with a living cell, which had been transformed with the synthetic genome, adding the cell had gone through a “million steps of replication” and was now frozen in a freezer.
“This is an important step we think, both scientifically and philosophically. It’s certainly changed my views of the definitions of life and how life works,” he added in a statement.
Throughout the research, the team had engaged in discussions about the ethical implications of their work, he stressed, but Canadian international technology watchdog ETC Group warned against further such research.
The synthetic cell “is not a one-stop shop for all our societal woes,” said the group’s director, Pat Mooney. “It is much more likely to cause a whole new set of problems governments and society are ill-prepared to address.”
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese