Comentario de ETC sobre Synthia
Synthia’s last hurdle?
Synthia – the “Original Syn” artificial microbe – may have jumped a hurdle that Dolly – the cloned sheep – never could
The team of synthetic Genomics scientists inserted the whole genome of Mycoplasma capricolum – a bacterium that often infects goats – into another bacterium showing that it is possible to “boot up” a new species through the cells of another species. “Synthia – the artificial goat bug – may, if it works, surpass Dolly – the lamb clone – with the scientific breakthrough,” says Pat Mooney.
The patent application disclosed at the end of April showed that – at the time of application – no one had created artificial life. But, at the same time, the patent claims that the method it disclosed could make artificial life possible. Today’s article, by some of the same inventors, seems to suggest that the patent may need updating. Presumably, Synthetic Genomics Inc. is submitting a new application for this new approach. “For at least two years now, Craig Venter has been promising the world artificial life in a matter of months,” Thomas notes, “The promises keep coming and the months keep rolling by. Now the research team may have just overcome one of the last hurdles to synthetic life.” Pat Mooney adds, “However, the real hurdle that Synthia and Craig Venter have to overcome is society. Synthetic biology is a form of extreme genetic engineering that has enormous implications for everyone who lives on this planet.”
Despite the delays and the changes, no one attending the Synthetic Biology 3.0 gathering in Zürich this week really doubts the ability of the technology to build unique life forms. “Perhaps the most shocking thing about all this,” concludes Jim Thomas, “is that scientists now treat the construction of artificial life as a ‘given’. Everyone seems to feel it is just a matter of time.” During the Zürich conference earlier this week, Jim Thomas of ETC Group called for scientists to join with civil society and governments in a broad societal discussion over the socio-economic, environmental, health, and ethical implications of the new technology. (For further information about the Zürich meeting, see http://www.etcblog.org/.)
For further information:Jim Thomas: jim@etcgroup.org, tel: +1-514-516-5759Kathy Jo Wetter: kjo@etcgroup.org, tel: +1-919-960-5223Pat Mooney: etc@etcgroup.org, tel: +1-613-241-2267Silvia Ribeiro: silvia@etcgroup.org, tel: +52-5555-6326-64
Etiquetas: Synthetic Biology
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