Scientists in Maryland yesterday said they had built from scratch an entire microbial chromosome, a loop of synthetic DNA carrying all the instructions that a simple cell needs to live and reproduce.

The feat marks the first time that anyone has made such a large strand of hereditary material from off-the-shelf chemical ingredients. Previous efforts had yielded DNA strands less than one-twentieth the size, and those pieces lacked many of the key biological programs that tell a cell how to stay alive.

On the basis of earlier experiments, the researchers believe the new, full-length loop would spontaneously "boot up" inside a cell, just as a downloaded operating system can awaken a computer -- a potentially historic event that would amount to the creation of the first truly artificial life form.

Team members emphasized that they have not done that yet but expressed confidence that they would do so before the end of the year.

"There are barriers . . . but we are confident that they can be overcome," said J. Craig Venter, who led the effort with Daniel G. Gibson and Hamilton O. Smith at the J. Craig Venter Institute in Rockville. The work appears in yesterday's online edition of the journal Science.

Venter said the goal is to design novel microbes whose handcrafted genomes endow them with the ability produce useful chemicals, including renewable synthetic fuels that could substitute for oil.

Critics, however, countered that without better oversight of the fledgling field, synthetic biology is more likely to lead to the creation of potent biological weapons and runaway microbes that could wreak environmental havoc.

"Venter is claiming bragging rights to the world's longest length of synthetic DNA, but size isn't everything. The important question is not 'How long?' but 'How wise?' " said Jim Thomas of the ETC Group, a Montreal-based group that has called for a moratorium on the release and commercialization of synthetic organisms pending further public debate.

Venter's team started by determining the precise order of all 580,076 base pairs, or "letters" of DNA code, inside one of the simplest microbes known to science: Mycoplasma genitalium, a bacterium that can infect the human genital tract. The scientists bought small pieces of DNA, then perfected painstaking methods to stitch them together inside bacteria and yeast cells in exactly the right order.

The final product -- 582,970 base pairs in all -- is a near-exact replica of M. genitalium's genome, with a few intentional differences. The team omitted a DNA snippet that allows the microbe to infect other cells, for example, and added extra DNA as "watermarks" to differentiate their construct from the naturally occurring variety.

"It's the first synthetic bacterial chromosome," Venter said. "Every one of those base pairs started as a chemical in a bottle."

George Church, a Harvard geneticist leading competing efforts to develop novel life forms -- not from scratch but by modifying existing bacteria -- said the work marks something less than the dawn of a new era.

"This is not a 'creating life' paper. It is not a test of vitalism. It's an assembly paper," Church said. "The question is: Is it faster or cheaper than other methods? But they don't lay out their economics. They missed an opportunity there."

Venter said he could not provide an estimate of the project's cost.

Venter and others have already made synthetic genomes for viruses, which are about one-hundredth the size of bacterial genomes. Some activists contend that synthetic bacteria pose more dangers because, unlike viruses, they can replicate on their own and can survive a long time in the environment.

Venter said the work was green-lighted by government offices, the National Academies and an independent ethics review board.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/24/AR2008012402203.html

this is a step to creating life. what do the religious folks think

bawomol:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/24/AR2008012402203.html

this is a step to creating life. what do the religious folks think

how is this a step to creating life? What they have done is simply create a plasmid DNA encoding the entire bacterial genome . . . scientists are yet to figure out just how many genes make up the human genome . . . besides we are a lot more than just a piece of circular DNA.
How will scientists create a DNA strand that stretches for miles?
We know that certain genes are tightly regulated i.e some are turned on only during embryonic development (Hox genes for example) . . . how will you be able to figure this out.

How human genes are regulated will remain an important area of scientific research for decades to come . . . clearly in 500yrs time we still will be no closer to being able to create synthetic life.

Let them create life first.

how is this a step to creating life? What they have done is simply create a plasmid DNA encoding the entire bacterial genome . . . scientists are yet to figure out just how many genes make up the human genome . . . besides we are a lot more than just a piece of circular DNA.

BS. a unicellular organism is still considered living. in time, artificial life would be created now that a genome has been built from scratch. 50 years from now, scientists would probably be working on creating the human genome. are u scared that this may challenge the genesis theory??

Let them create life first.

what happens after they create life?

bawomol:

BS. a unicellular organism is still considered living. in time, artificial life would be created now that a genome has been built from scratch. 50 years from now, scientists would probably be working on creating the human genome. are u scared that this may challenge the genesis theory??

u're simply making noise. Did you address any of my questions?
A unicellular organism is of course considered living but sit down and think first! The human body is made up of billions of cells . . . many of which have distinct functions and do not express the same genes.

The human genome has not been fully decoded . . and u think scientists will be creating human life in 50yrs? Where are you from? Mars?

Did you know that brain cells are vastly different from skin cells? Did you know that cardiac muscle is not the same as skeletal muscle? Let scientists design a synthetic human cell first before you start telling me about BS.

u're simply making noise. Did you address any of my questions?
A unicellular organism is of course considered living but sit down and think first! The human body is made up of billions of cells . . . many of which have distinct functions and do not express the same genes.

The human genome has not been fully decoded . . and u think scientists will be creating human life in 50yrs? Where are you from? Mars?

Did you know that brain cells are vastly different from skin cells? Did you know that cardiac muscle is not the same as skeletal muscle? Let scientists design a synthetic human cell first before you start telling me about BS.

lmao, what's the defensive stance for. centuries ago, no one believes man would be able to create airplanes or look at things smaller than atoms. guess what, those can be achieved today. the area of bioresearch is rapidly progress. the creation of artificial life is a win for science and stab to religion. a synthetic genome isn't BS but a scientifically breakthrough.

i think cloning is a more important step than being able to create synthetic unicellular organims.

i think cloning is a more important step than being able to create synthetic unicellular organims.

clone is an INTERMEDIATE step. creating artificial life starts from the scratch. this is unreached territory we are talking about.

Cloning may be an intermediate step but it is the most logical option open to scientists now. Creating artificial human life is not feasible at this point.

Dont compare the creation of a plasmid to the replication of the human DNA.

I thought we were deluded and don't think. I hope congratulations are in order.

The DNA is the blueprint or code for the physical body. It is not life since life is not physical. Life comes from God and it cannot be created. Technically, it is a possiblity that within 15-30 years molecular biologist can synthesize artificially the entire human genome. However even with this feat, it is incorrect to talk about creatting life since the very precursors used in artificially synthesizing the DNA molecule are already provided by God. Thus science does not create anything but through the union of already existing elements, it brings about new forms. It is more correct to say that science can form but cannot create. The spirit or "soul" which animates the physical body and its DNA is the only truely living part of man. This spirit or soul cannot be created by any creature, it is a creation of God. When the spirit withdraws from the body during physical death, the body and its DNA lack "life" and decays. Mainting cells or tissues in cultures is not living since such cells lack counciousness. It is is possible that the entire human genome can be synthesised and programmed to develop into a physical human body but it is impossible for this artificially created body to become a living man since the soul or spirit is lacking.

m_nwankwo:

The DNA is the blueprint or code for the physical body. It is not life since life is not physical. Life comes from God and it cannot be created. Technically, it is a possiblity that within 15-30 years molecular biologist can synthesize artificially the entire human genome. However even with this feat, it is incorrect to talk about creatting life since the very precursors used in artificially synthesizing the DNA molecule are already provided by God. Thus science does not create anything but through the union of already existing elements, it brings about new forms. It is more correct to say that science can form but cannot create. The spirit or "soul" which animates the physical body and its DNA is the only truely living part of man. This spirit or soul cannot be created by any creature, it is a creation of God. When the spirit withdraws from the body during physical death, the body and its DNA lack "life" and decays. Mainting cells or tissues in cultures is not living since such cells lack counciousness. It is is possible that the entire human genome can be synthesised and programmed to develop into a physical human body but it is impossible for this artificially created body to become a living man since the soul or spirit is lacking.

Need I say more??.
Thanks M_nwankwo you said it all. As a science student, I can say that your post is not only spiritually fulfilling but also scientifically accurate.

By the way, where have you been? I haven't seen your posts for a while. I missed your matured outlook on things.

there is nothing scientifically accurate about a soul or a spirit. according to such theory, plans wouldn't be considered living things since they bear no soul or spirit.

bawomol:

there is nothing scientifically accurate about a soul or a spirit. according to such theory, plans wouldn't be considered living things since they bear no soul or spirit.

I will not talk about soul or spirit here. Lets talk scientifically. What the scientists recently did is that the, "researchers used yeast to stitch together four long strands of DNA into the genome of a bacterium called Mycoplasma genitalium."http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/01/synthetic_genome
If you really understand what this implies then the question of creating life should not even arise. Remember yeast is a living thing already in nature! Now how can you create something (life) from something (life) that already exists. It is only a question incubating, fusing, and rearranging or reforming something that already exists in a manner that nature doesn't usually do it.
Even if this "synthetic genome" ends up booting up a cell like they plan to do, it is still not creating life.
To create means to start from nothing to something. In this case, to create life will be to start from completely none-living thing to a living thing. In this process of creating, none of the ingredients should posses any life, and in the process no living thing should be used, even if it used as an incubator. Of course you know this is impossible and no scientist will ever dream of that.
If you call this creating life then every father and mother should be considered creators because they did basically the same thing -- the father putting his sperm into the mothers eggs.  Wheather this is done naturally or in a laboratory or at the cellular level it is basically the same thing. Would you call invitro-fertilization (which I have witnessed) the creation of life?
Is it not strange how much the so called steps to creating life depends on already existing life forms. Why, in the case of cloning and intro fertilization, despite the fact that the ingredients are already living cells, after the artificial fertilization the fertilized egg(embryo) still cannot continue to live and grow if it is not implanted in a woman's womb. Why is a woman's womb indispensable!!!

bawomol:

there is nothing scientifically accurate about a soul or a spirit. according to such theory, plans wouldn't be considered living things since they bear no soul or spirit.

I will not talk about soul or spirit here. Lets talk scientifically. What the scientists recently did is that the, "researchers used yeast to stitch together four long strands of DNA into the genome of a bacterium called Mycoplasma genitalium."http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/01/synthetic_genome
If you really understand what this implies then the question of creating life should not even arise. Remember yeast is a living thing already in nature! Now how can you create something (life) from something (life) that already exists. It is only a question incubating, fusing, and rearranging or reforming something that already exists in a manner that nature doesn't usually do it.
Even if this "synthetic genome" ends up booting up a cell like they plan to do, it is still not creating life.
To create means to start from nothing to something. In this case, to create life will be to start from completely none-living thing to a living thing. In this process of creating, none of the ingredients should posses any life, and in the process no living thing should be used, even if it used as an incubator. Of course you know this is impossible and no scientist will ever dream of that.
If you call this creating life then every father and mother should be considered creators because they did basically the same thing -- the father putting his sperm into the mothers eggs.  Wheather this is done naturally or in a laboratory or at the cellular level it is basically the same thing. Would you call invitro-fertilization (which I have witnessed) the creation of life?
Is it not strange how much the so called steps to creating life depends on already existing life forms. Why, in the case of cloning and intro fertilization, despite the fact that the ingredients are already living cells, after the artificial fertilization the fertilized egg(embryo) still cannot continue to live and grow if it is not implanted in a woman's womb. Why is a woman's womb indispensable!!!

why avoid the comment about souls and spirit but somehow u claim his post is scientifically accurate. again, this is the first step to creating a synthetic organism and artificial life. this is a scientific breakthrough.

bawomol:

why avoid the comment about souls and spirit but somehow u claim his post is scientifically accurate. again, this is the first step to creating a synthetic organism and artificial life. this is a scientific breakthrough.

My dear bawomol,
Mr M_Nwankwo's post had both the non-physical (soul and spirit) and scientific information. His statements on both are very correct and thats what I meant when i said it's scientifically accurate. His science was flawless as well as his references to the soul and spirit. Both stand side by side, not intermingled- He did not use soul and spirit to explain his science. I know those (soul and spirit) are not scientific therms.

I do not avoid comments about souls and spirit but this issue is a scientific one and I try to speak to people in a language that they will understand. You seem to be scientifically inclined and knowlagable; that's why I spoke scientifically to you.

You're right. It is a scientific breakthrough. But it is the first step towards rearranging living organisms, and DNA of living organisms to achieve a different living organism or DNA. Definitely no question of creating life!

@ bawomol, will u consider cloning a creation of synthetic life?

@Everyone:

The DNA is the blueprint or code for the physical body. It is not life since life is not physical. Life comes from God and it cannot be created. Technically, it is a possiblity that within 15-30 years molecular biologist can synthesize artificially the entire human genome. However even with this feat, it is incorrect to talk about creatting life since the very precursors used in artificially synthesizing the DNA molecule are already provided by God. Thus science does not create anything but through the union of already existing elements, it brings about new forms. It is more correct to say that science can form but cannot create. The spirit or "soul" which animates the physical body and its DNA is the only truely living part of man. This spirit or soul cannot be created by any creature, it is a creation of God. When the spirit withdraws from the body during physical death, the body and its DNA lack "life" and decays. Mainting cells or tissues in cultures is not living since such cells lack counciousness. It is is possible that the entire human genome can be synthesised and programmed to develop into a physical human body but it is impossible for this artificially created body to become a living man since the soul or spirit is lacking.

This guy, M_Nwankwo, is almost a Muslim! The only thing he says that I may disagree with is 'it brings about new forms,' phrase, which ended his stament about science inability to truly create! God had and continues to create things; alot of God's creations are still unknown to us. Allah says in His Book, 'Allah is your Creator, and He is the Creator of all you create!' This simply means all the elements needed to replicate what He has created, but we have not yet discovered, and all which are known to us, are in place from God. The brain and mind to think and conceptualize it, with all the instruments, patience and resiliance, in short, the way with it all are created are provided by God! There is no truly new things under the heavens. Allah gave all the knowledge of things under the heavens, to Adam, this was the singular major reason Satan became his open enemy and that of his wife, Eve. It was this reason, when God commanded the Angels, (the community which Satan was keeping, even though he was not an Angel, but a Jinn, a being created from smokeless fire) to prostrate to Adam, they all prostrated but Iblis, who later was named Satan did not prostrate. This was the first sin after Adam was created! This special place given to Adam by God, the knowledge of things and the prostration that they were commanded to give him (Angels and Jinn), was the causation of the deceit of Satan against Adam, which brought about the eating from the forbidden tree.

What I like about M_Nwankwo is his understanding of SOUL and Spirit to mean the same exact thing; the element that really brings about life! There are no three things that make up man: Only two that make up man, the SOUL (Spirit) and Body. It is the body that is lifeless when Soul/ Spirit is removed from it. It is the body that in time decays. May God complete His favor on you, man, by bringing into your heart the light of true guidance. Amin. Your future is Islam, and you are on your way, with steadied feet, and steps of a man whose true belief is yet to be activated.

@olabowale,

olabowale:

@Everyone: This guy, M_Nwankwo, is almost a Muslim!

You earlier identified 3 types of Muslims (and somebody said they are all the same - "Muslims"; which are -

Muslim
partial Muslim
Hypocrite Muslim

To which of these groups is the one you considered "almost" Muslim?

olabowale:

It was this reason, when God commanded the Angels, (the community which Satan was keeping, even though he was not an Angel, but a Jinn, a being created from smokeless fire) to prostrate to Adam, they all prostrated but Iblis, who later was named Satan did not prostrate.

Why would Allah have asked Angels to prostrate to Adam when Islam teaches that such an act was idolatry in the ranks of the most terrible sin (shirk)?

olabowale:

What I like about M_Nwankwo is his understanding of SOUL and Spirit to mean the same exact thing; the element that really brings about life!

The soul and spirit do not mean that same thing. Islam sees them as the same; but Muslims cannot reconcile their statements when closely examined on that premise.

@Justcool,

Thanks for your warm words. I wish you strength. I was on holiday in Naija. I just came back to Norway.

@Bawamol,
Science is subject to the law of development and this presupposes that the more science digs into the laws of nature, the more it will find and their will never be an end to discoveries and so called inventions. A genuine science will always lead the investigator to the recognition of the greatness of the work of God and then to the incomprehensible greatness of God, the Almighty Creator. This genuine science uses the human brain as an instrument for the earthly practicalization of what was shown, recieved or intuitively percieved by the spirit or "soul" that lives in the sense of the laws of God. A mechanistic science uses the brain, not as an instrument but the the creator of inventions and discoveries. That it why it will reject anything that cannot be fathomed by the human brain. Unfortunately much of the science today is mechanistic. The human genome is fully sequenced but having the letters of the the DNA is only the beginning. How these letters interact with each other and with the enviroment is a complex matter and even in the next 1000 years, these interactions will still be the subject of scientific investigation. There is no doubt that many discoveries will be made but non of these discoveries will result in the production of a living human being that has consciousness. It is possible that the entire physical body can be engineered by manipulating the human genome in the future but that physical body willnot be activated by the spirit or "soul" which only comes from God.

@Olabowale

I do not belong to any religion.