Artificial life is only four months away?!

[Great Rumbler]

Artificial life will be created within four months, a controversial scientist has predicted. Craig Venter, who led a private project to sequence the human genome, told The Times that his team had cleared a critical hurdle to creating man-made organisms in a laboratory.

“Assuming we don’t make any errors, I think it should work and we should have the first synthetic species by the end of the year,” he said.

Dr Venter, who has been chasing his goal for a decade, is already working on projects to use synthetic biology to create bacteria that transform coal into cleaner natural gas, and algae that soak up carbon dioxide and turn it into hydrocarbon fuels. Other potential applications include new ways of manufacturing medicines and vaccines.

Dr Venter’s prediction came after scientists at his J. Craig Venter Institute, in Rockville, Maryland, announced that they had developed a new method of transplanting DNA into bacteria, promising to solve a problem that has held up the artificial life project for two years.

The team took the first step in 2007 by implanting the genome of a bacterium, Mycoplasma mycoides, into cells belonging to a close relative, Mycoplasma capricolum. This transformed the host bacteria into Mycoplasma mycoides.

Last January the team built a bacterium’s entire genetic code from scratch. The next step was to transfer this synthetic genome into a host cell, using the 2007 transplant technique, to “reboot” it with genetic instructions written by humans. This has failed so far because the synthetic genome will not work when it is transplanted into host cells.

The new research, published in Science, has identified the probable reason for this failure and developed a new approach that should address it.

Natural bacterial genomes, such as the one that was successfully transplanted, are chemically modified by a process called methylation. When they are inserted into other cells this process appears to protect them against chemicals called restriction enzymes, which defend against viruses.

The synthetic genome, however, is not methylated, as it has to be grown in yeast, which does not provide the necessary chemical modifications, thus leaving it open to attack by the restriction enzymes.

In the new study, the Venter team grew the natural M. mycoides genome in yeast, under similar conditions to the synthetic genome, so that it had no methylation. These genomes failed to take when they were transplanted into host cells.

The team then remethylated the M. mycoides genome in the laboratory before placing it into the host cell. This time the transplants worked and the cells were rebooted as M. mycoides.

The success suggests that methylating the synthetic genome before transfer should allow it to take over host cells and reboot them with its DNA. Experiments in this have now begun.

Methylation should protect the synthetic genome against the host cells’ defences, much as drugs that suppress the immune system protect transplanted organs against rejection.

Hamilton Smith, a Nobel laureate who is another leader of the research, said: “I believe this work has important implications in better understanding the fundamentals of biology to enable the final stages of our work in creating and booting up a synthetic genome. This is possibly one of the most important new findings in the field of synthetic genomics.”

Dr Venter said the research was particularly important because it opened the door to altering algae and bacteria to perform useful functions.

“This could be one of the most powerful tools in biology,” he said.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article6804599.ece

 

[Powerslave]

so when is this gonna get used in videogames

[The Fake Shemp]

My mother worked for Craig Venter's ex-wife for years (I've visited their previous jointly operated facility and have some crazy stories) and you will not believe the stories I've heard.

[Cormacaroni]

Great Rumbler, how do you think this compares with Dr. Snotgunne of the Havana Institute's proposed methods for embobulating cell membranes with a preloaded "antimethylation" cocktail that fortifies the bacteria against myocarpithides and such, thus preventing premature partituration of the super-manidible octobrane?

[Great Rumbler]

Great Rumbler, how do you think this compares with Dr. Snotgunne of the Havana Institute's proposed methods for embobulating cell membranes with a preloaded "antimethylation" cocktail that fortifies the bacteria against myocarpithides and such, thus preventing premature partituration of the super-manidible octobrane?

Dr. Snotgunne is a hack. This is the real deal, baby!

[Tauntaun]

My mother worked for Craig Venter's ex-wife for years (I've visited their previous jointly operated facility and have some crazy stories) and you will not believe the stories I've heard.

Do tell.   

[The Fake Shemp]

I won't divulge any personal stuff. I do remember stopping by TIGR (that's where my mom worked) once, and seeing a steel container on wheels with a giant biohazard sticker on it, just chilling on the sidewalk. Some kind of mist was coming off of it from the heat.

I was pretty sure the zombie outbreak would start because of something like that.

[Tauntaun]

   I would've back away, then ran. 

[recursivelyenumerable]

Sweet.  Now Microsoft just needs to get cracking on a CLR JIT to DNA so the platform is accessible to lazy programmers such as I've become  

[twerd]

get back to me when it's fuckable.

[The Fake Shemp]

He has like 70s Bond villain toys. No joke. He goes to tropical islands with women and stuff.

[Bildi]

I won't divulge any personal stuff. I do remember stopping by TIGR (that's where my mom worked) once, and seeing a steel container on wheels with a giant biohazard sticker on it, just chilling on the sidewalk. Some kind of mist was coming off of it from the heat.

Gee whiz.

[Yeti]

Dr. Venter even has a name like 70's villains

He could use the Vench-men that Dr. Venture isn't using.

[The Fake Shemp]

Definitely made me feel safe.

[Great Rumbler]

I found a video of this guy's life on Youtube:

[youtube=560,345]_fYTA7bxqP4[/youtube]

[chronovore]

so when is this gonna get used in videogames

I'm more interested in when this "snot gunne" will become available in videogames.

[Cormacaroni]

it was a nod to Unreal actually 

[Reb]

Maybe somebody can give Malek an artificial life!

[Tauntaun]

He has like 70s Bond villain toys. No joke. He goes to tropical islands with women and stuff.

Those aren't toys.

[Powerslave]

so when is this gonna get used in videogames

I'm more interested in when this "snot gunne" will become available in videogames.

If AI was implemented in videogames we could have Life the Videogame. I suppose you'd need a big pc tower for it though.

[chronovore]

No, man! All you'd need is Sony's CELL technology, or haven't you read their PS3 literature?

You'll be able to get your PS3 amplified by your Sony microwave and Toshiba refrigerator, both of which have CELL processors in them! So your PS3 and fridge and microwave oven will sort of voltron together to form an actual AI that will feed you microwaved frozen pizzas WHILE becoming the perfect game opponent.

[Joe Molotov]

AI, dinosaurs cloning, awww yeah the future's almost here! 

[Powerslave]

No, man! All you'd need is Sony's CELL technology, or haven't you read their PS3 literature?

You'll be able to get your PS3 amplified by your Sony microwave and Toshiba refrigerator, both of which have CELL processors in them! So your PS3 and fridge and microwave oven will sort of voltron together to form an actual AI that will feed you microwaved frozen pizzas WHILE becoming the perfect game opponent.

Trolling the PS3 isn't funny

[BlackMage]

how much longer until i can have sex with a clone me?

[Flannel Boy]

how much longer until i can have sex with a clone me?

Is this the only way you can lose your virginity? By raping what pretty much amounts to a younger twin brother of yours?

[BlackMage]

how much longer until i can have sex with a clone me?

Is this the only way you can lose your virginity? By raping what pretty much amounts to a younger twin brother of yours?

you are so meeeeen  :'(

[Cormacaroni]

how do you rape yourself?

(not a philosophical question; i really want to give it a shot!)

[chronovore]

No, man! All you'd need is Sony's CELL technology, or haven't you read their PS3 literature?

You'll be able to get your PS3 amplified by your Sony microwave and Toshiba refrigerator, both of which have CELL processors in them! So your PS3 and fridge and microwave oven will sort of voltron together to form an actual AI that will feed you microwaved frozen pizzas WHILE becoming the perfect game opponent.

Trolling the PS3 isn't funny

The laugh's on me, since I'll be buying a PS3 Slim next month.