Artificial Life / J. Craig Venter

J. Craig Venter, the first scientist who figured out the complete human DNA sequence is at his final phase of creating the first free-living artificial organism by collecting deep-sea organisms last year. It is a bacteria with a few hundred genes. His firm, Synthetic Genomics, Inc will be creating synthetic bugs which produce Ethanol and Hydrogen. The potential benefits of biocomputers are huge, and can be used to create medication, fuels, cleans pollution and detect explosives. (Business Week 2007-06-25 / On The Brink Of Artificial Life / Craig Venter says success is near, but critics blast efforts to patent synthetic organisms)

This verifies The Economist's claim: "What physics was to the 20th century, biology will be to the 21st -- and RNA will be a vital part of it." (The Economist 2007-06-24 / The RNA revolution: Biology's Big Bang)

Related articles on the Web

• Forbes: BP's Biotech Bet


• New Scientist: Countdown to a synthetic lifeform


• New York Times: Scientists Transplant Genome of Bacteria


• Washington Post: J. Craig Venter's Next Little Thing: The man who mapped the human genome has a new focus: using microbes to create alternative fuels.


• Washington Post: Scientists Report DNA Transplant / Organisms Adopt Donor Traits