Genes of micro-organisms are being modified to create something new
The BBC reports on our upcoming seminar speaker Craig Venter’s recent advances in creating life. Attendees of Juan Enriquez’ illuminating talk “Mapping Life” also heard about this research and Venter’s success in “jump starting” life by injecting DNA from one cell to another.
The plan is to re-synthesise these DNA sequences from simple chemicals, stitch them together and create an artificial organism. Some believe the team may be on the cusp of doing just that. Dr Venter’s work on synthetic life is described by some as “top-down”, meaning that he is taking an existing organism and changing it to create something new.
“We have abandoned so much of what traditional biology is doing, many biologists view us as heretics” -Steen Rasmussen
