Gregb Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 THE science of synthetic biology took an important step forward this week with the announcement in Science, by a team from Jef Boeke’s laboratory at Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, of the first completely synthetic yeast chromosome. This takes the field from the bacterial realm to that of creatures like man. That fungi and people are closely related may not be obvious to the average human being. But biologically it is true, because both are eukaryotes, meaning that they have proper cell nuclei with several linear chromosomes in them, and also lots of other complex and well-defined cellular structures, called organelles. Bacteria, in contrast, are prokaryotes—meaning their DNA is arranged in small, circular chromosomes which float around in more or less organelleless cells. This is really exciting. Each year brings us closer to creating real life. http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21599754-first-synthetic-chromosome-creature-complex-cells-designed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abe40 Posted April 8, 2014 Report Share Posted April 8, 2014 I need to take this as a joke: is this the reason why our movies usually depict extra-terrestrial beings as slimy fungi-like creatures? When scientists eventually create life from fungi that resemble humans, I hope they will not be slimy too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Posted April 8, 2014 Report Share Posted April 8, 2014 I need to take this as a joke: is this the reason why our movies usually depict extra-terrestrial beings as slimy fungi-like creatures? When scientists eventually create life from fungi that resemble humans, I hope they will not be slimy too. No; you need to take topics on a science forum as serious. Please refrain from posting off-topic and/or with no reference or scientific merit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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