The line between biology and computer design may be getting harder to draw. If genetic material can be treated like code, organisms might come to be engineered as well as observed.

Researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), a not-for-profit genomic research organization, published results describing the successful construction of the first self-replicating synthetic bacterial cell. The team synthesized the 1.08 million base pair chromosome of a modified Mycoplasma mycoides genome. Scientists at the institute announced the successful transplant of a synthesized genome into an existing cell.

Designing Life in a Computer

The synthetic cell is called Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-syn1.0 and is the proof of principle that genomes can be designed in the computer. A team led by Daniel G. Gibson, Hamilton O. Smith and Dr. Venter reported in the journal Science that the synthetic DNA takes over a bacterial cell just as the natural DNA did. The cost of the project was $40 million, most of it paid for by Synthetic Genomics, a company Dr. Venter founded.

Viewing a cell as a host for a synthetic genome could change how biotechnology is approached. One reading is that genetic sequences might eventually be designed and deployed somewhat like software. If a genome can be drafted digitally and booted up in a host environment, the constraints of natural evolution may give way to human-directed design.

The Ethics of Programmable Biology

President Obama asked the White House bioethics commission to complete a study of the issues raised by synthetic biology within six months.

This quick government response may highlight the gap between new technical capability and the frameworks that govern it. Arguably, the larger change is not the synthetic cell alone but the idea that digital information could shape living things.

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