May 20, 2010, it is the day that would be remembered forever as scientists announced that they have successfully created first artificial life in the history of human being on this day. It is the production of a living cell powered by man-made DNA. The inventors (Dr. Venter and team) call it the world's first synthetic cell, although this initial step is more a re-creation of existing life which is changing one simple type of bacterium into another — than a built-from-scratch kind.
The breakthrough could be a step toward creating artificial microorganisms that observers say might be used for such purposes as absorbing greenhouse gases or developing vaccines and fuel.
They, however, have also expressed concerns that the research could result in the production of hazardous life forms or biological weapons and many more to come which would be a big threat to humanity.
"It's the first self-replicating cell on the planet that's parent is a computer," says Venter, referring to the fact that his team converted a cell's genome that existed as data on a computer into a living organism. Dr. Venter has a reputation as a maverick, having raced the federal government to map the human genome and finishing in a tie in 2000.
How was artificial cell formed?
The researchers picked two species of Mycoplasma, simple germs that contain a single chromosome and lack the cell walls that form barriers in other bacteria. First, they chemically synthesized the genome of M. mycoides, that goat germ, twice as large as the germ genome they had previously built.Then they transplanted it into a living cell from a different Mycoplasma species, albeit a fairly close cousin.
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