Welcome to artificial life Synthia

[Vypyrz]

Neat...

...so how's that oil spill/leak doing in the gulf?

No worries! Synthia will take care of it...


So, who is already thinking about how to breed Synthia Ball Pythons?...

[xdeus]

IMO, life can not be artificial. Life is life cannot be made by human. Even though they say that this is life.... I dont agree that its life....

How is this bacteria not alive? BTW, humans have been making life for quite some time now. I made two life forms myself! (With a little help from my wife)

[Blue Apple Herps]

IMO, life can not be artificial. Life is life cannot be made by human. Even though they say that this is life.... I dont agree that its life....

Sorry, but its life, like it or not.

I think its a great break through. There are a lot of possibilities with this sort of technology that may be very beneficial.

[Jyson]

Sorry, but its life, like it or not.

I think its a great break through. There are a lot of possibilities with this sort of technology that may be very beneficial.

Agreed, its practically incomprehendable what they could do with this. Cure cancer, aids, oil spills, kool aid stains, and hopefully even studity

[Danounet]

I wonder how hard could it be to produce Red Blood Cells with something like this?

I'm always being called for blood donations, specifically for patients that have gone through burns. One of the nurses explained it to me once, but I forgot most of it by now. Something along the lines of my age, weight (not over weight) and no blood problems.

[WingedWolfPsion]

They're already testing artificial red blood cells that work as well as real ones.

Life beyond the most simple bacteria is a LONG way off. Sythia isn't perfect--they don't have everything figured out yet, and not all the genes they put in switched on the way they were supposed to. This is because sequencing is more complicated than just putting it in there--it has to be in the right order. Synthia is an amazing achievement, but it really just demonstrates how much we still have to learn.

A red blood cell doesn't contain DNA, because it has no nucleus.

[blackcrystal22]

They're already testing artificial red blood cells that work as well as real ones.

Life beyond the most simple bacteria is a LONG way off. Sythia isn't perfect--they don't have everything figured out yet, and not all the genes they put in switched on the way they were supposed to. This is because sequencing is more complicated than just putting it in there--it has to be in the right order. Synthia is an amazing achievement, but it really just demonstrates how much we still have to learn.

A red blood cell doesn't contain DNA, because it has no nucleus.

Correct, meaning with this technology it should be pretty easy to synthetically create.

[WingedWolfPsion]

That makes no sense.

This technology involves taking an EXISTING cell, emptying it, and replacing the original DNA with the synthesized DNA.

How is that going to help with making red blood cells, which have no DNA? There is nothing to replace.

We can't make a cell from scratch yet, we need to have an existing cell to 'reprogram'. Basically, they removed the bacterium's hard drive, and replaced it with a new one that had a different operating system. They can't yet build the rest of the 'computer'.

However, in a completely unrelated research project, they have succeeded in making a cell-like structure with the SHAPE of a red blood cell, which contains a chemical that bonds and releases oxygen just like a red blood cell does. THAT technology is real artificial blood, and may come to replace donated blood if it can be made cost effective. It's certainly a heck of a lot safer.

Here's an article on the artificial red blood cells: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1217201827.htm

[zoologist]

How is that going to help with making red blood cells, which have no DNA? There is nothing to replace.

If you used these guys to act as marrow cells you could "farm" blood. You could have an endless supply of red blood cells and never have to worry about the transmission of diseases.

[WingedWolfPsion]

Dude, bacteria are a fraction of the size of red blood cells. You can't program a bacterium to make red blood cells.