Synthetic Bacterial Genome Takes Over Cell – NYTimes.com

Designer cell created on computer is launched. One day we will design cells for steak and grafts alike…

The genome pioneer J. Craig Venter has taken another step in his quest to create synthetic life, by synthesizing an entire bacterial genome and using it to take over a cell.

Dr. Venter calls the result a “synthetic cell” and is presenting the research as a landmark achievement that will open the way to creating useful microbes from scratch to make products like vaccines and biofuels. At a press conference Thursday, Dr. Venter described the converted cell as “the first self-replicating species we’ve had on the planet whose parent is a computer.”

via Synthetic Bacterial Genome Takes Over Cell – NYTimes.com.

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