Kompressor

Scientists create "artificial life" - synthetic DNA that can self-replicate



In one of the biggest breakthroughs in recent history, scientists have created a synthetic genome that can self-replicate. So what does this mean? Are we about to become gray goo?

Led by Craig Venter of the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), the team of scientists combined two existing techniques to transplant synthetic DNA into a bacteria. First they chemically synthesized a bacterial genome, then they used well-known nuclear transfer techniques (used in IVF) to transplant the genome into a bacteria. And apparently the bacteria replicated itself, too, thus creating a second generation of the synthetic DNA. The process is being hailed as revolutionary.

How to make a synthetic genome

Researchers created a synthetic genome by copying an existing one — Mycoplasma mycoides — and transplanting it into Mycoplasma capricolum. How can we be sure that the M. mycoides is synthetic? When recreating it, the team added a number of non-functional "watermarks" to the genome, making it distinct from the wild version. Once implanted, the M. mycoides genome "booted up" the recipient cells, deleting or disrupting 14 genes. The bacteria went on to function normally, meaning the transplant worked.


"This is the first synthetic cell that's been made, and 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," said Venter. "This becomes a very powerful tool for trying to design what we want biology to do. We have a wide range of applications [in mind]."

"If the methods described here can be generalized, design, synthesis , assembly and transplantation of synthetic chromosomes will no longer be a barrier to the progress of synthetic biology," write the authors in the paper (available free online from Science).

Proof of concept

At present, this is a proof of concept, but has some immense potential for the future. The research team at JVCI have been working on this technology for approximately 15 years, and now have a number of possible organisms planned: an algae that would suck up carbon dioxide and excrete hydrocarbons for biofuels; faster vaccine production; water cleaning; and using light energy to create hydrogen gas from water.

As anyone with even a glancing familiarity with scifi knows, self-replicating technology could lead to disaster. JCVI have done their due diligence here, and all their engineered creations require nutrients found in the lab to survive. They also have the technology to create "suicide genes" that will prevent the synthetics from living outside of a controlled environment.

Aware of the ethical and security issues involved, JCVI has also been in talks with the U.S. government since 2003, as well as being reviewed by independent bioethics groups since 1997.

Ethics of synthetic life

So what does this all mean? Beyond the applications I already mentioned, it's also helping us understand how life works - specifically, how it's transmitted through DNA. "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," Venter said.

Nature has compiled a number of opinions from prominent academics on the project. Everyone acknowledges that this is just the first step in what could be a very interesting development.

"We now have an unprecedented opportunity to learn about life. Having complete control over the information in a genome provides a fantastic opportunity to probe the remaining secrets of how it works," says Mark Bedau of Reed College, Oregon. "A prosthetic genome hastens the day when life forms can be made entirely from non-living materials. As such, it will revitalize perennial questions about the significance of life — what it is, why it is important and what role humans should have in its future."

Jim Collins of Boston University reminds us that there's still much left we don't know:

Frankly, scientists do not know enough about biology to create life. Although the Human Genome Project has expanded the parts list for cells, there is no instruction manual for putting them together to produce a living cell. It is like trying to assemble an operational jumbo jet from its parts list - impossible. Although some of us in synthetic biology may have delusions of grandeur, our goals are much more modest.

There's a long way to go with this technology, but this advance is incredibly significant, and from it we may see the dawn of a new revolution in molecular biology and genetic engineering.

__________________
Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought. -H. Bergson

The_Jester

miracle manufacture

Their also working on "programming" fungi by chemical synthesis of dna.

thanks for sharing!

__________________
In LOVING kindness,

The forum fool.

The Rev

God, who is infallible, made Man, who is, collectively, an idiot. What happens when you make a copy of a copy?

This will not end well.



The Rev

__________________

Grieves

Terrible...But I have been watching alot of fringe lately so my opinion is skewed...

__________________

Mafoo

the title of the article is kind of misleading. they didnt "create" anything, they just used the genome of a bacteria as a template and then synthesized a duplicate sequence of dna.

now when they write a new sequence and get it to replicate, that will be insane

__________________
PLUR
For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return

hijabihippie

Walter Bishop is my favorite stoner on TV!

But seriously, I'd like to see more information on this before I form an opinion.

JcP

this. still very cool tho!

__________________

Just look out around us, people fightin their wars...
They think they'll be happy when they've settled their scores...
Let's lay down our weapons
and hold us apart
be still for just a minute
try to open our hearts
MORE LOVE.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Rev It's not what you see, it's that you're looking.

Kompressor

The title may be misleading, but the body clearly states that this is a proof of concept, and the synthetic DNA is not a duplicate, it's a mod of the original. They analyzed the genome, modified it, and replicated the mod.

They are not interested in animating the inanimate, though. In fact the article states that they are far from understanding the basic processes that could allow inert materials into living objects. Hell even the famous Miller-Urey experiment of 1952 remains difficult to redo.

Synthetic Biology is all about modifying existing organisms, a.k.a. Genetic Engineering on steroids. By tweaking existing DNA, they could force organisms to churn out chemicals fuels, or even medicines. Imagine bamboo programmed to grow into a chair instead of being cut/woven, or self-assembling solar panels [leaves] feeding our electrical grid, or trees that exude diesel sap, or bacteria that could heal, etc...

This could be the sea change into a second, 'greener' industrial revolution.

__________________
Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought. -H. Bergson

Kompressor

The first step toward building a mouse from synthetic DNA

Scientists have successfully created a small part of the DNA needed to build a mouse from scratch. It's just a step on on the long road to synthetic life, but in the short term their breakthrough could prevent genetic disease.

Previously the researchers, at the Venter Institute, synthesized an entire bacterial genome. That genome was functional: The researchers were able to implant it in a yeast bacteria, which replicated the synthetic DNA.

This new work on the mouse genome is much more ambitious than the bacterial genome. Ultimately it could lead to a process where scientists throw a few DNA strands into a mix of enzymes and reagents, incubate them at 50 degrees C, and wind up with a wriggly little mouse in less than a week.

But we're not there yet. That's why the researchers started small, building only the part of the mouse genome that's in mouse mitochondria, an organelle in cells that generates energy. There are a number of genetic diseases caused by mutations in mitochondrial genomes, so researchers are hopeful that their work could result in a way to replace faulty DNA in humans suffering from one of these inherited conditions.

They also worked on a problem that plagues synthetic biologists: How do you detect errors in your synthetic DNA? Obviously you don't want to build an organism whose DNA has errors in it, but building and then sequencing DNA is difficult and expensive. The researchers figured out a way to automate DNA code checking, which involves knitting the genome together from very small sequences that have been cloned and error-checked inside E. coli bacteria.

So what's the upshot? When will you have your synthetic, superpowered mouse - or your synthetic mitochondrial genome to cure a genetic disease? Probably not for a while. Researchers say this is just a proof-of-concept, and the genome they created wasn't functional - though it was error-free. Still, don't be surprised if you hear about completely synthetic mice - built by humans from the nucleotides up - running around in labs in about ten years.

__________________
Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought. -H. Bergson

Grieves

This is all headed towards genetically created cattle for McWal-mart...

__________________

BibleGuy

"This becomes a very powerful tool for trying to design what we want biology to do. We have a wide range of applications [in mind].

...

They also have the technology to create "suicide genes" that will prevent the synthetics from living outside of a controlled environment.

...

JCVI has also been in talks with the U.S. government since 2003"

So, assuming they master this stuff, tweek the DNA and "create"... let's say... productive, compliant citizens who are actually engineered to follow the state. Excellent consumers, soldiers, etc. Obedient. Earth is the "controlled environment". And if such an engineered person deviates; challenges authority; stray outside the box in some way... they self-terminate. Uncle Sam, or the U.N., or the Church calls the deviation "sin" and says "See, we told you... God told you... the wages of sin is death! We love you. God loves you and wants you to be happy. Obey."



I agree with The Rev. They can talk all about good intentions, but this will not end well.

msicidron

yyup here we go...

http://www.pdftop.com/view/aHR0cDovL...N0aW9ucy5wZGY= ("We" - Yevgeny Zamyatin)

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

haha i wouldnt normally be linking huge pieces of literature but i've been reading these for a dystopia course, and they're pretty relevant

__________________

Suliman

some crazy shit..... i was going to bring up millers experiment too, we've only been creating synthetic organic compounds for 60 years, and were already making semi-synthetic DNA. pretty amazing

__________________

Debaser

Zombie Apocalypse, here we come!

Don't forget to double tap!

__________________
Wouldn't it be great to heal the world with only a song?

Message CM47: Let's go pay some hookers to knock our junk around.