WE ARE ALL DESIGNISTS NOW:

A step closer to creating life out of chemical soup: Scientists replicate a bacterium's entire genome with off-the-shelf ingredients. The feat could lead to the production of medicines, industrial products and even renewable fuels. (Karen Kaplan, 1/24/08, Los Angeles Times)

Using off-the-shelf chemical compounds, scientists for the first time have constructed the entire genome of a bacterium, a key step toward their ultimate goal of creating synthetic life forms, researchers reported today.

The man-made DNA was nearly identical to the natural version on which it was based -- with minor modifications to identify it and render it harmless to people, according to the study in the journal Science.

Boy, the use of the terms "synthetic" and "natural" could hardly be less scientific there.

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 24, 2008 2:32 PM