Artificial life likely in 3 to 10 years by Delia Cruceru

Scientists gathered to create "life", not a normal one, but a synthetic. A group of scientists from around the world say that they are researching on how to create artificial life forms. They claim that in 3 to 10 years this fact will be possible and maybe even to become usual. "It's going to be a big deal and everybody's going to know about it," said Mark Bedau, chief operating officer of ProtoLife of Venice, Italy. "We're talking about a technology that could change our world in pretty fundamental ways - in fact, in ways that are impossible to predict." They will create the first cell of synthetic life from the basic chemicals in DNA, allowing it to function and reproduce, but the cell will be so small that would be visible only through a microscope. Jack Szostak from Harvard Medical School predicted that in six months a report of the first evidence will be released by the scientists, an artificial cell membrane for which they're going to use fatty acids. But Steve Benner, a biological chemist at the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution in Gainesville, Fla. attacks this theory trying to add another eight new bases to the genetic alphabet. "When these things are created, they're going to be so weak, it'll be a huge achievement if you can keep them alive for an hour in the lab," Bedau said. "But them getting out and taking over, never in our imagination could this happen."

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070820/ap_on_sc/artificial_life;_ylt=AoQIMN7GsTpp.ZhxI7tl_BSs0NUE

by Delia Cruceru for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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