Last month, researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute announced that they had made the first synthetic cell by piecing together a genome made from bottled chemicals and transplanting it into a recipient cell. The landmark accomplishment represents a new level of control over the substance of life at the molecular level and one that could lead to ways to make cells that produce vaccines in large quantities and cleaner fuels.
Though researchers emphasize that it will be years before scientists can demonstrate the true potential of these techniques to engineer life, they're now using the experiments to increase the fundamental understanding of cell biology.
During a tour last week of the institute's Rockville, MD, facilities, where the experiments are taking place, scientists explained that the synthetic cell was created as a result of a project to learn how to make a cell with the minimum number of genes possible to live. "The hope is that by understanding the basic principles of cellular life, we will be able to make cells make more stuff," says John Glass, a professor at the institute. Cells designed to make a particular chemical will make it more efficiently if researchers can eliminate every other nonessential metabolic process. "I've always wanted to know how cells work, and now we have the tools," he says.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Technology Review: How to Make an Artificial Cell
Author: Katherine Bourzac
