Dr Craig Venter Announces First Synthetic Living Cell

Scientists in the US have succeeded in developing the first synthetic living cell.

The researchers constructed a bacterium's "genetic software" and transplanted it into a host cell.

The resulting microbe then looked and behaved like the species "dictated" by the synthetic DNA.

The advance, published in Science, has been hailed as a scientific landmark, but critics say there are dangers posed by synthetic organisms.

The researchers hope eventually to design bacterial cells that will produce medicines and fuels and even absorb greenhouse gases.

The team was led by Dr Craig Venter of the J Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) in Maryland and California.

He and his colleagues had previously made a synthetic bacterial genome, and transplanted the genome of one bacterium into another.

Now, the scientists have put both methods together, to create what they call a "synthetic cell", although only its genome is truly synthetic.

Dr Venter likened the advance to making new software for the cell.

The researchers copied an existing bacterial genome. They sequenced its genetic code and then used "synthesis machines" to chemically construct a copy.

Dr Venter told BBC News: "We've now been able to take our synthetic chromosome and transplant it into a recipient cell - a different organism.

"As soon as this new software goes into the cell, the cell reads [it] and converts into the species specified in that genetic code."

The new bacteria replicated over a billion times, producing copies that contained and were controlled by the constructed, synthetic DNA.

"This is the first time any synthetic DNA has been in complete control of a cell," said Dr Venter.

'New industrial revolution'

Dr Venter and his colleagues hope eventually to design and build new bacteria that will perform useful functions.

"I think they're going to potentially create a new industrial revolution," he said.

"If we can really get cells to do the production that we want, they could help wean us off oil and reverse some of the damage to the environment by capturing carbon dioxide."

Dr Venter and his colleagues are already collaborating with pharmaceutical and fuel companies to design and develop chromosomes for bacteria that would produce useful fuels and new vaccines.

But critics say that the potential benefits of synthetic organisms have been overstated.

Dr Helen Wallace from Genewatch UK, an organisation that monitors developments in genetic technologies, told BBC News that synthetic bacteria could be dangerous.

"If you release new organisms into the environment, you can do more harm than good," she said.

"By releasing them into areas of pollution, [with the aim of cleaning it up], you're actually releasing a new kind of pollution.

"We don't know how these organisms will behave in the environment."

Dr Wallace accused Dr Venter of playing down the potential drawbacks.

"He isn't God," she said, "he's actually being very human; trying to get money invested in his technology and avoid regulation that would restrict its use."

But Dr Venter said that he was "driving the discussions" about the regulations governing this relatively new scientific field and about the ethical implications of the work.

He said: "In 2003, when we made the first synthetic virus, it underwent an extensive ethical review that went all the way up to the level of the White House.

"And there have been extensive reviews including from the National Academy of Sciences, which has done a comprehensive report on this new field.

"We think these are important issues and we urge continued discussion that we want to take part in."

Dr Gos Micklem, a geneticist from the University of Cambridge, said that the advance was "undoubtedly a landmark" study.

But, he said, "there is already a wealth of simple, cheap, powerful and mature techniques for genetically engineering a range of organisms. Therefore, for the time being, this approach is unlikely to supplant existing methods for genetic engineering".

The ethical discussions surrounding the creation of synthetic or artificial life are set to continue.

Professor Julian Savulescu, from the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford, said the potential of this science was "in the far future, but real and significant".

"But the risks are also unparalleled," he continued. "We need new standards of safety evaluation for this kind of radical research and protections from military or terrorist misuse and abuse.

"These could be used in the future to make the most powerful bioweapons imaginable. The challenge is to eat the fruit without the worm."

Water on the Moon Update

NASA in their effort to confirm reports of water on the moon launched a rocket on October 9, 2009 to crash into the lunar surface. Although the lunar explosion was not visible to the naked-eye it is obvious from the Today Show video below the results were still deemed successful by NASA's equipment. Water is the critical element which makes it possible to live on the moon for extended periods of time and could be the stepping stone to other planetary exploration. Also, the water’s molecules can be broken down to Hydrogen and Oxygen to make rocket fuel. It will take time for NASA to analyze the results but if it is found that the moon does indeed have the water and ice they expect to find this could mean huge savings in dollars spent on space exploration. This is great news especially considering recent budget cuts.

For more information and videos follow this link to my earlier article, Water Found on the Moon.

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Water Found on the Moon

What was once thought of as a ball of dust and desolation, the surface of the moon has more water on it than anyone ever knew. Water is the critical element which makes it possible to live on the moon for extended periods of time and could be the stepping stone to other planetary exploration. Also, the water’s molecules can be broken down to Hydrogen and Oxygen to make fuel.

The samples which were brought back from past lunar missions had trace water amounts but everyone assumed this was due to the seals on the containers. However satellites orbiting the moon have found ice on the surface amounting to billions of gallons of water. This is a phenomenal breakthrough since each gallon of water costs $80,000 to launch into space.

The distribution of water is at high latitudes toward the poles. The terrain of the moon makes it difficult to get to the water. This means that NASA will have to complete and have a successful land rover to be able to traverse the surface and be able to drive long distances. You can learn more about this in the National Geographic video below.

In a few weeks, NASA plans to crash a rocket into the moon where a satellite can measure precisely what it kicks up.

Today’s NASA image is a Mineralogy Mapper of the Moon and can be found in the sidebar at the end of this page.