CNN– Scientists have turned inanimate chemicals into a living organism in an
experiment that raises profound questions about the essence of life.
Craig Venter, the U.S. genomics pioneer, announced on Thursday that scientists at his laboratories in Maryland and California had succeeded in their 15-year project to make the world’s first “synthetic cells” – bacteria called Mycoplasma mycoides.
“We have passed through a critical psychological barrier,” Dr. Venter told the FT. “It has changed my own thinking, both scientifically and philosophically, about life, and how it works.”
The bacteria’s genes were all constructed in the laboratory “from four bottles of chemicals on a chemical synthesizer, starting with information on a computer,” he said.
The research, published online by the journal Science, was hailed as a landmark by many independent scientists and philosophers.
“Venter is creaking open the most profound door in humanity’s history, potentially peeking into its destiny,” said Julian Savulescu, ethics professor at Oxford University. “This is a step towards… creation of living beings with capacities and natures that could never have naturally evolved.”
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