The subject above is the same headline which was flashed on Sunday Times dated on 07/10/07. This might be a meaty boon for the intellectuals all across the world who are rattling their minds to match steps with a Divine entity! Being a news with global consequences, am sure it must have made headlines in all tabloids. But for all those for whom its going to be inconvenient going through the newspaper, I’m going to present the article in the exact intact but precise form!
“On Saturday, American biologist-Craig Venter told the media that he has built a synthetic chromosome out of laboratory chemicals. A few days from now he is expected to announce the creation of the first new artificial life form on earth”.
To get sense of what this really means, a quick primer on genetics is called for. Every cell in the human body contains a copy of the genome. Venter sequenced the human genome in 2001. And now his claim is that he & his team have figured out the mystery. This is the kind of knowledge that will allow him to create life. Simply put, ‘play God’.” That gives us the hypothetical ability to do things never contemplated before”, he said.
Venter used his knowledge to create Mycoplasma laboratorium, a chromosome that is 381 genes long. When transplanted into a living cell, it is expected to take control of that cell & become a new ‘life form’. Until now, scientists have managed to take the genome out of one cell, put it into another cell & create another new organism. But nobody knew how to create the genome itself. Venter apparently just did that.
Pat Mooney, the director of a Canadian bioethics organisation, said, “Venter is creating a chassis on which you could build almost anything.”
Realizing your stand as that of a mere layman as compared to these so called ‘word-ly and worldly wise’ scientist & his team, how would you counter his school of thoughts?? What are we looking at?
When Craig Venter announced that he was going to unravel the human genome, it sparked one of the most bitterly contested races in the history of science and compelling me to pen down a article. Now, the same Craig Venter who had once contended with the United States government and led the private effort to map the human genome, is back again hitting the headlines and savouring the attention given to his pursuit in the genetic field. Here, in an extract from his new memoir, he describes the acrimonious sprint to the finish.
Craig Venter, the much acclaimed controversial DNA scientist, has claimed that his team has constructed a synthetic chromosome out of laboratory chemicals and is poised to declare the creation of the first artificial life form on planet Earth. Undisputedly, if Venter and his team deliver on his bold promise, they will be credited with the breakthrough of creating an almost completely new life form for the first time. Apparently researchers hope that the discovery will contribute to developments in bioengineering, to help deal with climate change or provide alternative energy sources. Venter said that creating the new life form would be ‘a very important philosophical step in the history of our species.’
This discovery will be a giant step forward in the development of designer genomes. A team of 20 top scientists chaired by the Nobel honoree Hamilton Smith, has constructed a synthetic chromosome that is 381 genes long and contains 580,000 base pairs of genetic code, using lab-made chemicals at the J Craig Venter Institute. It will be then transplanted into a living bacterial cell and in the final stage of the process, it is anticipated to take control of the cell and in effect become a new life form.
The new life form will depend on its ability to replicate itself and metabolize on the molecular machinery of the cell into which it has been shot, and in that sense it will not be a wholly synthetic life form. However, its DNA will be artificial, and it is the DNA that controls the cell and is credited with being the building block of life.
The above written words have been extracted to put forth the factual happenings involved in this case sans any garnishing job done by me.
To get a sense of what this really means, think of the genome as a book - a blueprint - that comprises of details of what each individual ought to be like. Now, each genome contains one or several chromosomes - which is a long chain of DNA that ‘tells’ the cell what kind it is, what to do and when. Each chromosome contains several genes-specific and unique stories told by each chapter. DNA is composed of sugar, phosphate and different combination of four nitrogen bases - Adenine (A), Guanine (G), Thiamine (T) and Cytosine (C).
Genome-> Chromosomes -> Genes-> DNA-> Nitrogen base
Venter believes designer genomes have enormous positive potential if ‘properly’ regulated. In the long-term, he hopes they could lead to alternative energy sources previously unimaginable. Bacteria could be created, he theorizes, that could help clear up excessive carbon dioxide, thus contributing to the solution to global warming, or produce fuels such as butane or propane made entirely from sugar.
But surprisingly, he failed to discuss the negative effects of this kind of research. He didn’t discuss the effect of human intervention in the natural process of life creation. He didn’t discuss that what does it mean to create new life forms in a test-tube and what would be the reverse effect of replacing the entire genetic code of one microbe with that of another.
Venter’s genome-swapping technique is, without question, the most morally challenging issue faced by man. Although Venter’s goal of creating new species of life holds great promise, of making life on this planet much easier and much more pleasurable for everyone. But if the power to create new life forms is not responsibly managed or worst, then it will be the worst imaginable nightmare for humankind. So I am not sure that it is a wholly ‘good science’, as claimed by Venter and this genome-swapping technique should be rigorously debated. No matter the creation of a synthetic chromosome would revolutionize bioengineering, to help deal with climate change or provide alternative energy sources. But are we ready for artificial life forms?
We all know what will happen if we play God.
