It is probable that never since those times human beings have been as aware of the extraordinary possibilities opening up their horizons, as they are now with the creation of artificial life.
This new step by the prominent geneticist, Dr. J. Craig Venter of the Craig Venter Institute in Maryland, who with his team developed the first living cell controlled entirely by synthetic DNA, has strongly shaken the scientific community.
Craig Venter’s search for artificial life has taken some years, with one of the most significant scientific milestones occurring two years ago when the scientist managed to create a synthetic genome. That was the basis for the creation of artificial life, which has now been achieved revolutionizing the very concept of what is human, with heated ethical, moral, religious and philosophical debates ensuing.
The facts are as follows:
1.The first thing researchers did was to decode the chromosome of an existing bacterial cell, using a computer to encode the entire genetic data.
2.Then the researchers copied the code into a chemically constructed synthetic chromosome, assembling the DNA piece by piece to shape it.
3.Finally, the team inserted this chromosome into a bacterial cell that began to replicate, thus creating artificial life.
The research was published in *Science* magazine, and is undoubtedly the most important thing that has been done until now in genetic engineering. Starting with the creation of the synthetic genome, its insertion into a cell and its automatic replication (which reached over two billion units) the door is now wide open to a new world in this area of research.
*”This is the first time that synthetic DNA has taken complete control of a cell,”* Venter said, *”I think that potentially it will create a new industrial revolution.”*
The researcher’s goal is to harness these new organisms for a myriad of possibilities, from the absorption of CO2 to the production of desired substances.
Then there is the official discourse, the moralizing one, which always expresses fears when on the threshold of new discoveries and discusses the audacity of those who want to exceed divine powers.
Now they say we’re playing at being gods, taking for ourselves the attributes we give to our gods… just as it was back in our distant past when a spark was produced igniting tinder and creating fire… and after that, the domestication of plants and animals… and then travel to the Moon…
