J. Craig Venter is a biologist who mapped his own human genome. He is an advocate for gene mapping and gene research and speaks to political committees and academic researchers.
In a previous post I discussed the evidence for reductive evolution in Mycobacterium leprae, an interesting obligate intracellular parasite. At the 2008 ASM General Meeting, the Division U keynote lecture was headed by Tom Gillis of the National Hansen's Disease Program. His talk described the same work I cited in the previous article, which showed the immense amount of pseudogenes in the M. leprae genome. Gillis was interested in elucidating the role of these pseudogenes. This included... Read Full Story
Mycobacterium leprae is quite an interesting bug. It is significantly related to M. tuberculosis (the causative agent of TB), yet leprosy is a very different illness. Unlike other mycobacteria, M. leprae is unique in the fact that it is an obligate intracellular parasite. Replication of the bacterium cannot occur outside of host cells. To date, no synthetic media has been able to support M. leprae replication. Since M. leprae is required to parasitize, it stands to reason that discovering... Read Full Story
Activists and researchers alike are concerned that patents involving the new technology of creating synthetic life could lock up exciting new avenues of bio-research solely for commercial gain. J. Craig Venter, a pioneer of such research, is praised as an innovator and criticized as an arrogant egomaniac. But hey, if you’ve created life, wouldn’t it be tempting to see yourself as a God?
The term “synthetic” life could be considered a misnomer, however. The
process of taking an existing... Read Full Story
"We have 20 million genes which I call the design components of the future. We are limited here only by our imagination."
Craig Venter, Geneticist
Craig Venter has been making headlines over the past years for a wide variety of genetic “miracles”. The controversial scientist has made a lot of wild claims, but surprisingly most of them have panned out. But his latest “crazy” idea might just top them all. Venter recently disclosed that he is creating a life form that feeds on climate... Read Full Story
[Editors note: Well folks, it seems as if we couldn't even get the Venter piece out before the controversy started. Daily Galaxy has learned that ETC Group, a Canadian bioethics organization whose eagle-eyed spotters noticed the publication of patent 20070122826 last week, has asked Dr Venter to withdraw the patent—and, on the assumption that he will not, have asked the patent office to reject it on the grounds that it is contrary to public morality and safety.]ETC's main objection is... Read Full Story
