“Harvard scientists have cleared a key hurdle in the creation of synthetic life, assembling a cell’s critical protein-making machinery in an advance with both practical, industrial applications and that advances the basic understanding of life’s workings.”(ScienceDaily, 2009)
Genetics Professor George Church of Harvard Medical School and his research associate Michael Jewett have ended a 40 yr period of minimal progress in synthetic synthesis of RNA . The announcement reported the synthesis of over a billion synthetic ribosome’s, all of which were capable of synthesizing “firefly luciferase” a fairly complex protein. “The key component of all living systems is the ribosome… one of the most complicated biological machines,” Church commented (ScienceDaily, 2009).
Unlike previous attempts, Church and Jewett were able to (using E-coli bacteria to isolate and extract natural ribosome’s) extract RNA from which new ribosomal RNA was synthesized in a natural environment. This is contrary to previous attempts in which chemical environments were used.
This development is significant not only as a contribution to the understanding and creation of artificial life, but also has applications to industry. At present, proteins for industry are synthesized by natural ribosome’s, extracted on a large scale. This progress however presents the possibility of altering a ribosome to suit specific applications and means, yielding greater efficiency and benefits. "One possible use would be to create mirror-image proteins that would be less susceptible to breakdown by enzymes, making them longer-lived (ScienceDaily, 2009).
Although this development does not illustrate the creation of artificial life, it certainly marks a crucial step on the path towards it. "The ultimate goal is to create an artificial genome of 151 genes that they believe are the minimum to create a functioning, self-replicating cell."(ScienceDaily, 2009).
By 42031161
Article: Harvard University (2009, March 9). Toward Synthetic Life: Scientists Create Ribosomes -- Cell Protein Machinery. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 24, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2009/03/090309104434.htm
* All quotes taken from article listed above.
Image link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090309104434.htm
* All quotes taken from article listed above.
Image link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090309104434.htm
