By Fiona Hodge

Using just a computer and “four bottles of chemicals” Dr Venter and his team have built DNA, and inserted it into a living bacterial cell. The resulting cell functions and replicates, following the instructions of the man-made DNA. Not only is Dr Venter an impressive scientist, he has also proved to be a dab hand at PR. With flashy soundbites such as “We’re entering a new era, we’re limited mostly by our imaginations” and innovative tricks including inserting coded literary quotes into the synthesised DNA, “To live, to err, to fall, to triumph, to recreate life out of life” (by James Joyce) he successfully wooed the mainstream media (see the 3News article). If only the science behind the story could be conveyed in such compelling and simple soundbites…

It’s a little more complicated than the first sentence of this blog implies. Crucially, although the DNA is man-made, the DNA is basically a copy of the bacteria Mycoplasma mycoides with a few edits here and there. Removals included the 14 genes coding for goat mastitis! Additions included man-made and ‘man-designed’ DNA code which can be deciphered by scientists to reveal email addresses, websites, and literary quotes (the intention was to clearly label the DNA as man-made).

Before you start getting excited about customising children, remember this is bacterial DNA being transferred into bacterial cells. Bacterial cells are much simpler than human cells. Bacterial cells have all of their DNA loose in the centre of their cell. Human cells have nuclear DNA sealed inside a lipid membrane (like an envelope). Human cells also have mitochondrial DNA, a different type of DNA kept separately in the mitochondria (the cellular power plants). More complicated still are plants which have a third type of DNA – chloroplast DNA, held in their chloroplasts (the cellular solar panels). The added complexities of animal and plant cells mean that biotech advances in bacteria cannot be immediately applied in higher organisms.

The over arching goal of Dr Venter’s team is to work out the smallest amount of DNA required for a functional bacterial cell. This minimalist cell would be a useful starting point for genetic engineering projects, allowing scientists to easily tack on additional useful genes. Dr Venter points to uses such as synthesising flu vaccines and pharmaceutical compounds and cleaning up pollution. His company is already funded by ExxonMobil to work on creating algae suitable for large scale biofuel production.

The ethical and philosophical implications of such work are fascinating. Dr Savulescu, an Oxford professor of ethics, describes Dr Venter as “creaking open the most profound door in humanity's history". Dr Venter himself says his research has changed his outlook on life: “Life is, basically, the result of an information process, a software process, where the software is our genetic information.” Having an understanding of DNA, cells, evolution, and the specific research in question, is the first step in determining our own response to such science.

P.S. Frequently asked questions surrounding the research have been answered here by Science, the journal that published the research. Or watch an interview with Dr Venter. Also the “zoom in on your genome” animation is a great way of getting a sense of where and how DNA fits in our own bodies.