Oops. Didn't see Russell's thread in [TECH]. Disregard.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Vitaliy" <piclist@maksimov.org>
To: "piclist" <PICLIST@mit.edu>
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2010 12:04
Subject: [OT] Scientists create first synthetic organism: JCVI-syn1.0


> "Heralding a potential new era in biology, scientists for the first time
> have created a synthetic cell, completely controlled by man-made genetic
> instructions, researchers at the private J. Craig Venter Institute 
> announced
> Thursday.
>
> "We call it the first synthetic cell," said genomics pioneer Craig Venter,
> who oversaw the project. "These are very much real cells."
>
> Created at a cost of $40 million, this experimental one-cell organism, 
> which
> can reproduce, opens the way to the manipulation of life on a previously
> unattainable scale, several researchers and ethics experts said. 
> Scientists
> have been altering DNA piecemeal for a generation, producing a menagerie 
> of
> genetically engineered plants and animals. But the ability to craft an
> entire organism offers a new power over life, they said.
>
> The development, documented in the peer-reviewed journal Science, may stir
> anew nagging questions of ethics, law and public safety about artificial
> life that biomedical experts have been debating for more than a decade."
>
> http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703559004575256470152341984.html
>
>
> For those who prefer a wordier, metaphor-filled version:
>
> http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=16163006
>
>
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