Whatever Happened to Man

[SILVERNAME]

The British newspaper, The Guardian, recently ran the following headline, “I am creating artificial life;” a quote from scientist Craig Venter regarding his latest research.

Venter is working with over twenty “top scientists” and is trying to incorporate a synthetically made chromosome into the genetic code of a bacterial cell, intending to change the species of the cell and thereby create artificial life.

grasstopsusa.com/dw101607.html

 

[SeekerJen]

This is a duplicate of another thread, in which many of us agreed that this scientist is a bit full of himself, as he did not, in fact, create new life. Rather he played with DNA and manipulated an organism that already exists.

 

[SeekerJen]

Further, here’s a Nobel Laureate biochemist, Arthur Kornberg, who would likely dispute Venter’s claim. Kornberg won his Nobel for the discovery of DNA polymerase, without which Venter’s work would not be possible.

From the New York Times article serving as his obituary:

In 1967, Dr. Kornberg and his team became the first to produce the active inner core of a virus in a laboratory. President Lyndon B. Johnson hailed the report of the feat as “one of the most important stories you ever read” because it “opens a wide door to new discoveries in fighting disease and building healthier lives.”

The announcement led to headlines reporting “creation of life in a test tube.” But Dr. Kornberg disputed that characterization, saying he considered it part of a series of advances that had speeded up development of genetic engineering."