Human Genome researcher Craig Venter (above) has built a synthetic chromosome out of chemical materials, and says that this is the first step toward creating artificial life on earth. He is expected to announce that he has in fact done so within the coming weeks.
In an article in the Guardian newspaper, Venter claims that his discovery is “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.”
Venter is also the man who has worked to patent the human genetic code, leading some to wonder whether this is the best development for human history.
Maybe all those years of watching Sci-Fi movies and playing Resident Evil will serve as good training for what seems like the inevitable Zombie battle.
