{This thread has been retitled at Chlamor's suggestion}

I am creating artificial life, declares US gene pioneer

· Scientist has made synthetic chromosome
· Breakthrough could combat global warming

* Ed Pilkington in New York
* The Guardian
* Saturday October 6 2007

Craig Venter, the controversial DNA researcher involved in the race to decipher the human genetic code, has built a synthetic chromosome out of laboratory chemicals and is poised to announce the creation of the first new artificial life form on Earth.

The announcement, which is expected within weeks and could come as early as Monday at the annual meeting of his scientific institute in San Diego, California, will herald a giant leap forward in the development of designer genomes. It is certain to provoke heated debate about the ethics of creating new species and could unlock the door to new energy sources and techniques to combat global warming.

Mr Venter told the Guardian he thought this landmark would be "a very important philosophical step in the history of our species. We are going from reading our genetic code to the ability to write it. That gives us the hypothetical ability to do things never contemplated before".

The Guardian can reveal that a team of 20 top scientists assembled by Mr Venter, led by the Nobel laureate Hamilton Smith, has already constructed a synthetic chromosome, a feat of virtuoso bio-engineering never previously achieved. Using lab-made chemicals, they have painstakingly stitched together a chromosome that is 381 genes long and contains 580,000 base pairs of genetic code.

The DNA sequence is based on the bacterium Mycoplasma genitalium which the team pared down to the bare essentials needed to support life, removing a fifth of its genetic make-up. The wholly synthetically reconstructed chromosome, which the team have christened Mycoplasma laboratorium, has been watermarked with inks for easy recognition.

It is then transplanted into a living bacterial cell and in the final stage of the process it is expected to take control of the cell and in effect become a new life form. The team of scientists has already successfully transplanted the genome of one type of bacterium into the cell of another, effectively changing the cell's species. Mr Venter said he was "100% confident" the same technique would work for the artificially created chromosome.

The new life form will depend for its ability to replicate itself and metabolise on the molecular machinery of the cell into which it has been injected, and in that sense it will not be a wholly synthetic life form. However, its DNA will be artificial, and it is the DNA that controls the cell and is credited with being the building block of life.

Mr Venter said he had carried out an ethical review before completing the experiment. "We feel that this is good science," he said. He has further heightened the controversy surrounding his potential breakthrough by applying for a patent for the synthetic bacterium.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/ ... matechange (http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/oct/06/genetics.climatechange)

Put a cap in his ass.

Just call me old fashioned.

What an asshole. Been havin' to listen to this cretin for 15 years now. Nobody can write a research grant like Craig Venter Inc.


Patenting Pandora's Bug

Goodbye, Dolly...Hello, Synthia!
J. Craig Venter Institute Seeks Monopoly Patents on the World's First-Ever Human-Made Life Form

ETC Group Will Challenge Patents on "Synthia" - Original Syn Organism Created in Laboratory


Ten years after Dolly the cloned sheep made her stunning debut, the J. Craig Venter Institute is applying for a patent on a new biological bombshell - the world's first-ever human-made species. The novel bacterium is made entirely with synthetic DNA in the laboratory.

The Venter Institute - named for its founder and CEO, J....



http://www.etcgroup.org/upload/body_image/31/01/pandorasbugcaption3in.jpg

The Venter Institute - named for its founder and CEO, J. Craig Venter, the scientist who led the private sector race to map the Human Genome - is applying for worldwide patents on what they refer to as "Mycoplasma laboratorium." In the tradition of 'Dolly,' ETC has nicknamed this synthetic organism (or 'syn') 'Synthia.'
"Synthia may not be as cuddly as a cloned lamb, but we believe this is a much bigger deal," explains Jim Thomas of ETC Group, a civil society organization that is calling on the world's patent offices to reject the applications. "These monopoly claims signal the start of a high-stakes commercial race to synthesize and privatize synthetic life forms. Will Venter's company become the 'Microbesoft' of synthetic biology?" asks Jim Thomas.

"For the first time, God has competition," adds Pat Mooney of ETC Group. "Venter and his colleagues have breached a societal boundary, and the public hasn't even had a chance to debate the far-reaching social, ethical and environmental implications of synthetic life," said Mooney.

In Vivo, In Vitro, In-Venter? Published on May 31, 2007, the Venter Institute's US Patent application (number 20070122826) claims exclusive ownership of a set of essential genes and a synthetic "free-living organism that can grow and replicate" that is made using those genes. The Venter Institute has also filed an international patent application at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO number WO2007047148, published April 27, 2007) which names more than 100 countries where it may seek monopoly patents.

Pandora pending: Patent experts consulted by ETC Group indicate that, based on the language used in the application, the Venter Institute researchers had probably not achieved a fully-functioning organism at the time of the filing (October 12, 2006).

"It has been eight months since the Institute applied for its patents, so we don't know how much progress they've made, whether there is a scientific paper in press or how imminent the first synthetic species is," said Pat Mooney of ETC Group. "We've been hearing for more than two years now that Venter is on the verge of announcing the birth of a new bacterium. Many people think Venter's company has the scientific expertise to do the job," said Mooney.

Venter's Institute claims that its stripped-down microbe could be the key to cheap energy production. The patent application claims any version of "Synthia" that can make ethanol or hydrogen. Since the research was partially funded by the US Department of Energy, the US government will hold "certain rights" to the patent, if approved.

"It's purely speculation and hype that syns [synthetic living organisms] will be used to ameliorate climate change by producing cheap ethanol or hydrogen," said Jim Thomas. "The same minimal microbe could be harnessed to build a virulent pathogen that could pose grave threats to people and the planet," he said.

"Synthetic biologists have already assembled the poliovirus from off-the-shelf DNA, a feat that its constructor called 'a giant wake up call' because of the biowarfare implications. Syns are being hyped as a green, climate-change solution in order to deflect concerns that they could be used as bioweapons," adds Silvia Ribeiro of ETC Group.

The patent application is also a wake-up call to synthetic biologists who are advocating for "open source" biology - the idea that the fundamental tools and components of synthetic biology should be freely accessible to researchers. In the June 4 issue of Newsweek Craig Venter boasts, "If we made an organism that produced fuel, that could be the first billion- or trillion-dollar organism. We would definitely patent that whole process." In 2005, Venter founded Synthetic Genomics, Inc. to commercialize synthetic microbes for use in energy, agriculture and climate change remediation.

Syn of Omission? Synthetic biologists may also be dismayed to learn that Synthia is being patented for what it is not. The patent application explains that the inventors arrived at their minimal genome by determining which genes are essential and which are not. Remarkably, their patent application claims any synthetically-constructed organism that lacks at least 55 of 101 genes that they've determined are non-essential. "All synthetic biologists developing functionalized microbes are going to have to pay close attention to the claim on a 'non-essential' set of genes. If someone creates another bug that lacks some of the same genes that Synthia lacks, will the Venter Institute sue them for infringing its patent?" asks Kathy Jo Wetter of ETC Group.

Action Needed: Before syns are allowed to go forward, society must debate whether they are socially acceptable or desirable: How could their accidental release into the environment be prevented or the effects of their intentional release be evaluated? Who will control them, and how? How will research be regulated? In 2006 a coalition of 38 civil society organizations called on synthetic biologists to withdraw proposals for self-governance of the technology.

Today, ETC Group is writing to Dr. J. Craig Venter, CEO of the J. Craig Venter Institute, asking him to withdraw the Institute's patent applications filed at the U.S. PTO and WIPO, pending a full public debate over the implications of creating synthetic life forms.

"We don't want to engage in a long-term legal strategy to slap down bad patents. These patents must be struck down before they're issued," said ETC Group's Hope Shand. Last month, ETC Group won its 13-year legal challenge when the European Patent Office revoked Monsanto's species-wide soybean patent.

ETC is also writing to WIPO and the U.S. PTO, asking them to reject the patent on the grounds that it is contrary to ordre public (public morality and safety). Later this month ETC Group will attend Synthetic Biology 3.0 (an international conference of synthetic biologists) in Zürich, Switzerland June 24-26 where it will call upon scientists to join in a global dialogue on synthetic biology. ETC will organize meetings with governments and civil society during the upcoming scientific subcommittee meetings of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Paris, July 2-6, in order to discuss the implications of the creation of synthetic life forms for the Biodiversity Convention and for its protocol on biosafety. ETC Group will convene a global meeting of civil society actors on this and related issues within the next year.

Notes to Editors: See attached backgrounder.

For further information:

Jim Thomas (Montreal) jim@etcgroup.org Tel: 1 514 271 2539

Pat Mooney (Ottawa) etc@etcgroup.org Mobile: +1 613 261 0688

Silvia Ribeiro (Mexico) silvia@etcgroup.org Tel: + 52 5555 6326 64

Kathy Jo Wetter (North Carolina) kjo@etcgroup.org Tel: +1 919 960-5223

Hope Shand (North Carolina) hope@etcgroup.org Tel: +1 919 960-5223

http://www.etcgroup.org/en/materials/pu ... pub_id=631 (http://www.etcgroup.org/en/materials/publications.html?pub_id=631)

http://www.etcgroup.org/images/logo.gif

http://www.jcvi.org/images/pageframe/index_02.jpg
http://www.jcvi.org/images/pageframe/index_09.jpg

http://www.jcvi.org/research/huref/images/frontpage.gif

About the Institute

The new J. Craig Venter Institute was formed in October 2006 through the merger of several affiliated and legacy organizations--The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) and The Center for the Advancement of Genomics (TCAG), The J. Craig Venter Science Foundation, The Joint Technology Center, and the Institute for Biological Energy Alternatives (IBEA). Today all these organizations have become one large multidisciplinary genomic-focused organization. With more than 500 scientists and staff, more than 250, 000 square feet of laboratory space, and locations in Rockville, Maryland and La Jolla, California, the new JCVI is a world leader in genomic research.
Our History

For more than two decades Dr. J. Craig Venter and his research teams have been pioneers in genomic research. The revolution began in 1991 when at the National Institutes of Health Dr. Venter and his team developed expressed sequence tags (ESTs), a new technique to rapidly discover genes. Dr. Venter and his colleagues then started a new kind of not for profit research institute, The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR). With the freedom to pursue any number of exciting avenues in the burgeoning field of genomics, the team decided to use their new computing and computational tools, as well as new DNA sequencing technology to sequence the free living organism, Haemophilus influenzae in 1995. With this advance, the floodgates of genomics were opened. TIGR went on to sequence and analyze more than 50 microbial genomes. Dr. Venter and some from his team moved into mammalian genomics and sequenced some of the most important model organisms including the fruit fly, mouse and rat. The world’s attention was perhaps most keenly focused on the sequencing and analysis of one genome—the human—which was published in 2001 by Dr. Venter and his team at Celera Genomics.

At the new JCVI, we’re not content to rest on our laurels. In the past three years teams have been engaged in some of the most fruitful and exciting research in the biological sciences. We’ve recently published results of our global ocean sampling expedition which has uncovered more than six million new genes and thousands of new protein families from organisms found in sea water. Teams have sequenced the microbial flora found in the vagina, oral cavity and human gut, and we’ve created a synthetic version of PhiX 174, a virus that attacks bacteria, on our quest to create a fully synthetic chromosome and organism. We’re also completing a new sequencing of one complete human genome set to be published in early summer 2007. Check back soon for a new website and more information about our research.

http://www.jcvi.org/about/

Put a cap in his ass.

Just call me old fashioned.

was my first thought too.

What an asshole.

Is there a link between eugenics and the Human Genome Project? If so, what does this mean for future generations?

During the 34 years (1910-1944) the Eugenics Records Office was active, it collected information on specific human traits in what was called The Trait Book. Also collected was information on "Pedigree" families and their specific traits. Today, the Human Genome project is in effect carrying on what the Eugenics Records Office could only dream of.

James Watson, who began the initial research for the Human Genome Project, directed the operation from 1988-1992. Watson then served as director at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and would eventually become president of the Laboratory in 1994. Watson's beliefs about the betterment of mankind mirror those of past eugenics leaders.

Watson is quoted as saying at a 1998 UCLA conference that,


"I mean, sure, we have great respect for the human species .... But evolution can be just damn cruel, and to say that we've got a perfect genome and there's some sanctity to it, I'd just like to know where that idea comes from. It's utter silliness. And the other thing, because no one really has the guts to say it, I mean, if we could make better human beings by knowing how to add genes, why shouldn't we do it?"


Celera Genomics

Craig Venter caused many to question his ethics when he moved to found Celera Genomics in 1998, carrying the study of the human genome into the private sector, using the "shotgun strategy" to sequence the human genome at a faster clip than the public project.

In a press release dated March 1, 2001, Celera Genomics announced that it signed a "multi-year agreement" with AMDeC LLC to "allow member institutions to access Celera's database information [Human Genome data] through its Celera Discovery System." Some of those member institutions included Rockefeller University, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Interestingly, Rockefeller University was founded by John D. Rockefeller in 1901 with a dedication to biomedical research. Today, David Rockefeller, grandson to John D. Rockefeller Jr., is the Chairman of the Rockefeller University Council.

Venter further maddened fellow scientists when he moved to patent human genes. Serious ethical discussions took place after the first attempts to patent human genes, but ultimately the decision stood to allow patenting. The United States Patent and Trademark Office issued guidelines on patenting. The American Medical Association describes the guidelines,


"The rules are intended to help end a bitter debate on gene patenting. These regulations have put to rest any question about whether genes can be patented at all -- making it clear that companies may indeed patent both whole genes as well as pieces of genes..."


The guidelines allow patenting when the those applying for a patent on a gene show a "utility" for the gene. The AMA goes on to state that arguments were heard opposing the decision based on the fact that these genes were not created by anyone, and thus could not be patented. The AMA describes how the Patent office rejected these ideas,


"The PTO firmly rejected this notion based upon the fact that a gene may be removed from a person, then a clone of that gene may be made in a machine, which is then not a part of nature, but a product of the lab."


A search in the online patent database for "human genes" yields an astonishing 159021 results.
http://www.oldthinkernews.com/Articles/ ... genics.htm (http://www.oldthinkernews.com/Articles/oldthinker%20news/eugenics.htm)

Back to the future, baby -