Genetic engineers announced that by using synthetic DNA sequencing, they created a living organism. That scientists have created a so-called life form from scratch has created a good news/bad news scenario. DNA sequencing might lead to new fuels, drugs, vaccines, and even possibly sources of food. It also concerns those who imagine killer germs in the hands of state-sponsored bioterrorists. The Catholic Church has also issued a warning to scientists about synthetic DNA.
Synthetic genome sequencing from the beginning
Synthetic DNA sequencing is the result of 15 years of work and an investment of $ 40 million by the J. Craig Venter Institute. As reported Friday in the journal Science, genetic engineers succeeded in making a copy of a bacterium’s entire genome. The synthetic genome was then transplanted into a different bacteria emptied of its own genome. Once the DNA assimilated, the recipient bacteria began to reproduce in the same manner as the naturally occurring bacteria from which the synthetic DNA was copied.
Gluing together genetic code
Computer designed synthetic bacteria have fueled curiosity for years with the promise of a big pay day from cheap, efficient production of custom fuels, enzymes, and medications. The Christian Science Monitor reports that to create this synthetic DNA, scientists at J. Craig Venter Institute had to use yeast to glue together thousands of DNA snippets. With painstaking microscopic precision, the strands of genetic code were to come together in runs of tens of thousands of base pairs, and then hundreds of thousands, until the yeast produced a very complete 1.08 million-base-pair synthetic genome.
Genetic engineering and the controversies with it
Genetic engineering of synthetic DNA, if perfected, promises exciting technological benefits. This also is attracting fear and the attention of government regulation. Bloomberg reports that some bio-scientists warn that genetic engineering companies like the J. Craig Venter Institute that can manufacture synthetic DNA should watch their backs. Speaking about the way the J. Craig Venter Institute coordinated efforts with other laboratories to cook up the genome, James Collins, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute-supported bioengineer at Boston University, told Bloomberg that “They sent out chunks of the genetic code to companies and asked them each to synthesize parts of it,” Collins said. “You don’t want bad guys to order 10 parts of a nasty virus from 10 different groups and then put them together.”
Catholic Church scared by synthetic DNA
The Catholic Church has weighed in on the issue. The Associated Press reports that Catholic Church officials said Friday that the recently created first synthetic cell could be a positive development if correctly used, but warned scientists that only God can create life. Bishop Domenico Mogavero, expressed concern that scientists might be tempted to play God. “Pretending to be God and parroting his power of creation is an enormous risk that can plunge men into a barbarity,” Mogavero told the newspaper La Stampa in an interview. Scientists “should never forget that there is only one creator: God.”
Find more information on this topic
Science
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/science.1190719
The Christian Science Monitor reports
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0521/J.-Craig-Venter-Institute-creates-first-synthetic-life-form
Bloomberg reports
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0521/J.-Craig-Venter-Institute-creates-first-synthetic-life-form
