BIOTECH
What is life? For biotech researcher Craig Venter, the question isn't just a metaphysical riddle - it may have a scientific answer. This fall, Venter and colleague Claire Fraser will publish a study that contains a rudimentary blueprint for building the world's first artificial life-form.
Venter is the biotech pioneer who launched Celera Genomics, a company racing to decode the human genome ahead of the $3 billion publicly funded effort. But in the meantime, Venter, Fraser, and a team at the Institute for Genomic Research have been dissecting the DNA of a bacterium known as Mycoplasma genitalium to determine the minimum number of genes necessary to sustain life.
With a mere 470 genes, the bacterium's DNA was thought to contain instructions for only the most basic life functions. But by disrupting one gene at a time, Venter and Fraser found that only around 350 of these genes are essential for M. genitalium's survival.
Venter and Fraser postulate that these 350 key genes could be used to build the world's first artificial organism. Scientists could one day fashion customized organisms for eating radioactive waste, cleaning up oil spills, or generating renewable energy. Since the same genes could also be used to create biological superweapons, Venter and Fraser have temporarily postponed further experiments.
The two have called on the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Bioethics to assemble an independent panel to explore the ethical implications of their work. "We've learned from Dolly," says the center's David Magnus. "Instead of reacting to something that has already happened, we have time for in-depth discussion."
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