1.25.2008

J. Craig Venter: Penultimate God?

US scientists close to creating artificial life: study
US scientists have taken a major step toward creating the first ever artificial life form by synthetically reproducing the DNA of a bacteria, according to a study published Thursday.

The maverick scientist, Craig Venter, is at it again, eschewing the ethics of scientific morality he picks apart and reassembles God's basic building blocks of life. Only 4 billion or 6 thousandas years after the earth formed/was made, man is on the verge of creating the first artificial life form. And what life do we chose to create? Not a beautiful butterfly, nor a pretty rose. Instead, we've set our sights on the Mycoplasma genitalium bacteria...a name only a late night talk show host could love. Of all the things we could possibly create, we decide to work on something that causes sexually transmitted disease. Maybe this is funded by Bush's abstinence program.

"Thou shalt have no other Gods before me." Venter is fine with that. He'll just pull up a seat next to God.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Have they given a justification as to why they chose that specific bacteria?

Sanswoo said...

Mycoplasma genitalium is the organism with the smallest genome (or 2nd smallest, depending on who you ask) that can be grown in a free culture. It can be found in the male urethra of those infected with non-gonococcal urethritis. So, either Vetner has a ready supply in his shorts, or he's going for the low-hanging genomic fruit.

Do you think the Vatican should, in the name of God, go ahead and take out patents on all living organisms? Because if they don't, Vetner will.