Synthetic life
Encyclopedia
The creation of synthetic life is a goal of scientists working in the fields of synthetic biology
or exploring the origin of life. The term has also been used to describe recent experiments that transferred
the chemically synthesized copy of a bacterial genome into a different (but closely related) bacterial host cell. However, the term Synthetic Life is usually associated to the creation of a living system "from scratch", that is from isolated building blocks. This has not yet been achieved.
These efforts are largely independent from the computational simulation of artificial life
which is related to the discipline of robotics
.
created in vitro
from biochemicals and their component materials as opposed to the normally implied in silico
when using the broader term "alife".
W. Wayt Gibbs suggests that synthetic life has three major goals: "One, learn about life by building it, rather than by tearing it apart. Two, make genetic engineering worthy of its name--a discipline that continuously improves by standardizing its previous creations and recombining them to make new and more sophisticated systems. And three, stretch the boundaries of life and of machines until the two overlap to yield truly programmable organisms."
Synthetic life experiments attempt to either probe the origins of life, study some of the properties of life, or more ambitiously to recreate life from non-alive (abiotic) substances. An example of synthetic life might be an attempt to create self-replicating, self-perpetuating (autocatalytic
) chemical reaction
s to simulate possible origins for life.
Researchers involved feel that the creation of true synthetic biochemical life is relatively close and cheap, and perhaps easier than the effort needed to place man on the Moon.
replaced the genome of a natural cell with a different genome created by gene synthesis
creating a new bacterial strain dubbed Mycoplasma laboratorium
.
In press conferences, Craig Venter
described this work as the creation of "Synthetic Life". This statement was widely criticized on the grounds that:
The Craig Venter Institute maintains the term "synthetic bacterial cell" but they also clarify "...we do not consider this to be “creating life from scratch” but rather we are creating new life out of already existing life using synthetic DNA"
Synthetic biology
Synthetic biology is a new area of biological research that combines science and engineering. It encompasses a variety of different approaches, methodologies, and disciplines with a variety of definitions...
or exploring the origin of life. The term has also been used to describe recent experiments that transferred
the chemically synthesized copy of a bacterial genome into a different (but closely related) bacterial host cell. However, the term Synthetic Life is usually associated to the creation of a living system "from scratch", that is from isolated building blocks. This has not yet been achieved.
These efforts are largely independent from the computational simulation of artificial life
Artificial life
Artificial life is a field of study and an associated art form which examine systems related to life, its processes, and its evolution through simulations using computer models, robotics, and biochemistry. The discipline was named by Christopher Langton, an American computer scientist, in 1986...
which is related to the discipline of robotics
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
.
Synthetic biochemical life
Synthetic life is artificial lifeArtificial life
Artificial life is a field of study and an associated art form which examine systems related to life, its processes, and its evolution through simulations using computer models, robotics, and biochemistry. The discipline was named by Christopher Langton, an American computer scientist, in 1986...
created in vitro
In vitro
In vitro refers to studies in experimental biology that are conducted using components of an organism that have been isolated from their usual biological context in order to permit a more detailed or more convenient analysis than can be done with whole organisms. Colloquially, these experiments...
from biochemicals and their component materials as opposed to the normally implied in silico
In silico
In silico is an expression used to mean "performed on computer or via computer simulation." The phrase was coined in 1989 as an analogy to the Latin phrases in vivo and in vitro which are commonly used in biology and refer to experiments done in living organisms and outside of living organisms,...
when using the broader term "alife".
W. Wayt Gibbs suggests that synthetic life has three major goals: "One, learn about life by building it, rather than by tearing it apart. Two, make genetic engineering worthy of its name--a discipline that continuously improves by standardizing its previous creations and recombining them to make new and more sophisticated systems. And three, stretch the boundaries of life and of machines until the two overlap to yield truly programmable organisms."
Synthetic life experiments attempt to either probe the origins of life, study some of the properties of life, or more ambitiously to recreate life from non-alive (abiotic) substances. An example of synthetic life might be an attempt to create self-replicating, self-perpetuating (autocatalytic
Autocatalysis
A single chemical reaction is said to have undergone autocatalysis, or be autocatalytic, if the reaction product itself is the catalyst for that reaction....
) chemical reaction
Chemical reaction
A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Chemical reactions can be either spontaneous, requiring no input of energy, or non-spontaneous, typically following the input of some type of energy, such as heat, light or electricity...
s to simulate possible origins for life.
Researchers involved feel that the creation of true synthetic biochemical life is relatively close and cheap, and perhaps easier than the effort needed to place man on the Moon.
Mycoplasma laboratorium controversy
In 2010, the team of Craig VenterCraig Venter
John Craig Venter is an American biologist and entrepreneur, most famous for his role in being one of the first to sequence the human genome and for his role in creating the first cell with a synthetic genome in 2010. Venter founded Celera Genomics, The Institute for Genomic Research and the J...
replaced the genome of a natural cell with a different genome created by gene synthesis
Gene synthesis
Artificial gene synthesis is the process of synthesizing a gene in vitro without the need for initial template DNA samples. The main method is currently by oligonucleotide synthesis from digital genetic sequences and subsequent annealing of the resultant fragments...
creating a new bacterial strain dubbed Mycoplasma laboratorium
Mycoplasma laboratorium
Mycoplasma laboratorium is a planned partially synthetic species of bacterium derived from the genome of Mycoplasma genitalium. This effort in synthetic biology is being undertaken at the J. Craig Venter Institute by a team of approximately 20 scientists headed by Nobel laureate Hamilton Smith, and...
.
In press conferences, Craig Venter
Craig Venter
John Craig Venter is an American biologist and entrepreneur, most famous for his role in being one of the first to sequence the human genome and for his role in creating the first cell with a synthetic genome in 2010. Venter founded Celera Genomics, The Institute for Genomic Research and the J...
described this work as the creation of "Synthetic Life". This statement was widely criticized on the grounds that:
- the chemically synthesized genome was an almost 1:1 copy of a naturally occurring genome and
- the recipient cell was a naturally occurring bacterium
The Craig Venter Institute maintains the term "synthetic bacterial cell" but they also clarify "...we do not consider this to be “creating life from scratch” but rather we are creating new life out of already existing life using synthetic DNA"
See also
- Artificial related
- Artificial brainArtificial brainArtificial brain is a term commonly used in the media to describe research that aims to develop software and hardware with cognitive abilities similar to the animal or human brain...
- Artificial lifeArtificial lifeArtificial life is a field of study and an associated art form which examine systems related to life, its processes, and its evolution through simulations using computer models, robotics, and biochemistry. The discipline was named by Christopher Langton, an American computer scientist, in 1986...
- Simulated realitySimulated realitySimulated reality is the proposition that reality could be simulated—perhaps by computer simulation—to a degree indistinguishable from "true" reality. It could contain conscious minds which may or may not be fully aware that they are living inside a simulation....
- Artificial brain
- BiologyBiologyBiology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
related- Genetically modified organismGenetically modified organismA genetically modified organism or genetically engineered organism is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. These techniques, generally known as recombinant DNA technology, use DNA molecules from different sources, which are combined into one...
- Non-cellular lifeNon-cellular lifeNon-cellular life is life that exists without a cellular structure. This term presumes the phylogenetic scientific classification of viruses as lifeforms....
- Nucleic acid analoguesNucleic acid analoguesNucleic acid analogues are compounds structurally similar to naturally occurring RNA and DNA, used in medicine and in molecular biology research....
- Synthetic biologySynthetic biologySynthetic biology is a new area of biological research that combines science and engineering. It encompasses a variety of different approaches, methodologies, and disciplines with a variety of definitions...
- Systems biologySystems biologySystems biology is a term used to describe a number of trends in bioscience research, and a movement which draws on those trends. Proponents describe systems biology as a biology-based inter-disciplinary study field that focuses on complex interactions in biological systems, claiming that it uses...
- Genetically modified organism