Synthetic Biology

[SCcoug]

For those with expertise in the area what are your thoughts on this?

Researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), a not-for-profit genomic research organization, published results today describing the successful construction of the first self-replicating, synthetic bacterial cell. The team synthesized the 1.08 million base pair chromosome of a modified Mycoplasma mycoides genome. The synthetic cell is called Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-syn1.0 and is the proof of principle that genomes can be designed in the computer, chemically made in the laboratory and transplanted into a recipient cell to produce a new self-replicating cell controlled only by the synthetic genome.

http://www.jcvi.org/cms/press/press-...te-researcher/

With the way DNA sequencing has come down in price and time in the last several years, and I believe synthesis is on the same type of trajectory, this feels like the take off of a revolution. Or maybe I've been watching/reading to much sci-fi. Either way it will be interesting to see what comes out of this the next couple decades.

[SCcoug]

Here is an opinion piece in nature or rather 8 opinion pieces about the achievement.