Analyzing The Creation Of The Synthetic Cell By J. Craig Venter

The creation of the synthetic cell is part of an effort to design a “minimal cell” containing only the most basic genome required for life. Craig Venter fully believes in this great tool as the basis for cells to efficiently produce biofuels, vaccines, drugs and other products.

With synthetic genomes, we can switch out dozens or even hundreds of genes at once. And life is really good at creating complex molecules. The hope is that one day, we’ll be able to change the genomes in simple organisms so they interpret their genes as instructions to produce complex organic materials like drugs as medicine to cure people or jet fuel to alternate oil into nitrogen.

How are they created?

In May of 2010, a team of researcher at the J.Craig Venter Institute

So they got a closely-related species of mycoplasma, took out the DNA and used it as a sort of shell, since it still had all the membranes and other complex cell parts in it. To get the recipient cells to take up the synthetic genome, a researcher mixes the recipient cell with a chemical solution, this was, left for about three hours, the cells with more than one genome will divide, creating a mixture of cell types.

This creation will pave the way for many more scientific stepping stones to come such as creating more complex organisms that can transform environmental waste into clean fuel; vaccinate against disease and soak up pollution.

Ethical Factor

Synthetic biology seeks to apply the principles of engineering to the practice of biology and make possible the development of biological systems. But ethical questions include worries about risks and benefits, as well as concerns about whether the very idea of the technology is intrinsically

That is something never seen before. It has changed definitions of life and how dynamic it is.

Speaking of any science, synthetic organisms also has no greater risk than natural ones. Viruses of all types are killing men, woman and children every single day. Now, viruses are evolving very rapidly, and with these synthetic organisms can effect vaccines to diseases that haven’t been up to date.

Lastly, major environmental issues can be fixed with alternative for oil – synthetic biology has the potential to reduce our dependence on oil and to address climate change. R

Research is in the process to develop microbes that will produce oil, proving renewable fuel that could be used reciprocally with gasoline without creating green house effects and more global warming. Research could also lead to oil-eating microbes, an application that, as the Gulf spill unfortunately demonstrates, would be extremely useful.

Limitations of artificial