In a sensational claim a US scientist boasts that he is on the verge of creating the world's first artificial life form. The declaration came from the controversial DNA researcher Craig Venter who is involved in the mad rush to interpret human genetic code.
 

According to reports, Venter has built an entirely synthetic chromosome, a sequence of genes, and plans to implant it in an existing cell. While researchers are of the opinion that the latest developments would enhance bio-engineering and enable mankind to counter climatic changes as well as make alternative energy available, the general conception is that if Venter and his colleagues succeed in their mission, they will have the unique achievement of creating an almost entirely new life form for the first time.

The team of 20 top scientists led by Nobel laureate Hamilton Smith has already successfully relocated the genome of one type of bacterium into the cell of another, effectively changing the cell's species. The US scientist said that he was "100 per cent confident" the same technique would work for the artificially created chromosome and added that the new life form would depend for its ability to replicate itself and metabolize 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.

According to Venter, an announcement in this regard will be made within a week and even as early as Monday at the annual meeting of his scientific institute in San Diego, California, will harbinger a giant leap forward in the progress of designer genomes. It is certain to aggravate heated discussions about the ethics of creating new species.

In an interview Venter said that he considers this breakthrough 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".

In reply to a question Venter claimed that he had carried out an ethical review before completing the experiment. "We feel that this is good science," he said. He has also aggravated the debate concerning his potential breakthrough by applying for a patent for the synthetic bacterium.

Meanwhile, Canadian Bioethics Organization director Pat Mooney, ETC group, has said the move by the scientists was a great challenge to society to ponder the risks involved. "Governments and society in general, is way behind the ball. This is a wake-up call - what does it mean to create new life forms in a test-tube?"

Craig Venter is a maverick DNA scientist, who became the first individual to unravel his won genetic code in September this year. He is also the founder of Celera Genomics, which started a commercial version of the Human Genome Project using shotgun sequencing in 1999.