Synthetic cells now a possibility

Researchers unveiled yesterday that they managed to stumble upon a method of creating a synthetic species of bacteria thanks to used genes developed in the lab. Touted to be the first synthetic cell in the world, it has been dubbed Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-syn1.0 – and is similar to one found in nature at moment of publishing, save for the fact that the chromosome which controls each cell was created from scratch. One the researcher proudly states that “this is the first self-replicating species that we’ve had on the planet whose parent is a computer.” This is the fruition of 15 years of research and $40 million of funding, where possibilities of this technique could result in new tools for vaccine and pharmaceutical development, alongside the creation of new biofuels and biochemicals.

Filed in Medical..

Discover more from Ubergizmo

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading