Creating Life

[Klaplunk]

I read recently, and watched a video, on CNN.com; it was about a break-through in science, where scientists were able to forge DNA structure, giving them the ability to make custom plants/life; I'm not a scientist but I think it's called synthetic life, maybe not, anyway.. Is this true? If so, how long until we can create life forms with the same intelligence (or more) as our own?

[CharonY]

Most likely you saw Craig Venter's experiments. There is a thread about it somewhere here, but to summarize, it is was merely a large scale implementation of existing technologies, none of which are able to create custom organisms. What has been possible for decades is to manipulate organisms, however it is still a far shot from doing anything but the simplest manipulations (e.g. inserting genes that do not alter the existing organism too much or toying around with existing genes). We are still a far shot off of to e.g. engineer complex pathways and most attempts into manipulating simpler pathways often still yield unexpected results. This mostly due to the redundancy and flexibility of the underlying regulatory networks.

[Horza2002]

Artifical cells have been created I know that...I'll try find a link for it

[CharonY]

The things people know...

 

Meanwhile :

http://www.scienceforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=52115

 

http://www.scienceforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=52117

 

Mind you, artificial cells can also be lipid enclosures with a few proteins in it. This is not anywhere near a real cell, of course.

Edited July 1, 2010 by CharonY

[jess]

I know that they can make human ears grow off mice

 

http://images.livescience.com/images/freakyanimals_mouse_ears_03_10.jpg

[CharonY]

It is cartilage that is growing. Not a functioning ear. And it is way off from an artificial organism.

 

To add more details, it was a scaffold implanted into the mouse and seeded with cartilage cells. None of which were even remotely human. So neither genetic manipulation was conducted nor was human material used.

 

Again, the things people know...

Edited July 2, 2010 by CharonY

[jess]

I didn't say it was a working ear I'm just saying they can make stuff grow off living things which is a start next they will make harts and origins which will save a lot of people and if they can do that then they should be able to make custom living organisms.

[CharonY]

Read my post again. It was neither a human ear, nor was it grown off the mouse. It was grafted to it.

[jess]

It wasn't actually and the human ear is cartilage.

 

also they can clone but didn't last long the sheep died.

[CharonY]

Geez, take a look at the publication, will you?

 

Plast Reconstr Surg. 1997 Aug;100(2):297-302; discussion 303-4.

Transplantation of chondrocytes utilizing a polymer-cell construct to produce tissue-engineered cartilage in the shape of a human ear.

 

Cao Y, Vacanti JP, Paige KT, Upton J, Vacanti CA.

 

Department of Surgery, Children's Hospital, Baston, Mass., USA.

 

 

Abstract

 

This study evaluates the feasibility of growing tissue-engineered cartilage in the shape of a human ear using chondrocytes seeded onto a synthetic biodegradable polymer fashioned in the shape of a 3-year-old child's auricle. A polymer template was formed in the shape of a human auricle using a nonwoven mesh of polyglycolic acid molded after being immersed in a 1% solution of polylactic acid. Each polyglycolic acid-polylactic acid template was seeded with chondrocytes isolated from bovine articular cartilage and then implanted into subcutaneous pockets on the dorsa of 10 athymic mice. The three-dimensional structure was well maintained after removal of an external stent that had been applied for 4 weeks. Specimens harvested 12 weeks after implantation and subjected to gross morphologic and histologic analysis demonstrated new cartilage formation. The overall geometry of the experimental specimens closely resembled the complex structure of the child's auricle. These findings demonstrate that polyglycolic acid-polylactic acid constructs can be fabricated in a very intricate configuration and seeded with chondrocytes to generate new cartilage that would be useful in plastic and reconstructive surgery.

 

 

 

 

Also yes, cloning is possible as has been shown with Dolly, and before that, Xenopus.

None of which qualify as creating life, btw.