Skip to content

Teleological Blog

"Biologists must constantly keep in mind that what they see was not designed, but rather evolved." — Francis Crick

  • Evidence for Design
  • Atheism’s Trojan Horse
  • Darwinian Biases
  • teleologist’s theology
  • Toggle search form

Creation of a Bacterial Cell Controlled by a Chemically Synthesized Genome

Posted on May 21, 2010March 29, 2015 By teleologist 1 Comment on Creation of a Bacterial Cell Controlled by a Chemically Synthesized Genome

This post title was taken directly from the Sciencexpress research article title. Here are a few headlines from the popular press.
1st cell with synthetic genome — TheScientist
J. Craig Venter Institute creates first synthetic life form — The Christian Science Monitor
Scientists Create First Self-Replicating Synthetic Life — Wired

I think the media is more about sensationalized entertainment than informative reporting, but you would expect them to at least accurately report the facts somewhere in their reporting. I shouldn’t be surprise at the exaggerated claims from the popular press, except over time we have become desensitized to this misreporting and we are being collectively brainwashed to believe the popular press rather than reality. I think this is also in part for the widespread acceptance of Darwinism.

I want to commend Venter and his team for doing some amazing bioengineering work. It will undoubtedly lead to other breakthroughs in treating illnesses. However it does fall far short of what scientists ultimately would like to do, i.e. to create life from scratch. In other words, what Venter has done is still a long way from what the popular press headlines are claiming.

What Venter’s team has accomplished is exactly what they set out to do as reported back in 2003 and I posted about it here in 2005. While this is a remarkable piece of bioengineering, in truth Venter has not actually created any life. He merely took the digitized genome of a Mycoplasma mycoides, assembled the DNA from small pieces and inserted it into the cell of a Mycoplasma capricolum with its genetic material removed through enzymatic process.

I don’t know about you but the headline says “first synthetic life” or “Create First Self-Replicating Synthetic Life” I would expect a de novo DNA of a genomic sequence that does not exist. I would expect something from molecules to a self replicating cell. In the whole scheme of things, this is more like copying someone else’s homework with borrowed papers and pen. Unfortunately, I think scientists sometimes are complicit in misleading the public by not admonishing or even correcting these sensational headlines. This kind of misinformation does not ultimately benefit science.

Related posts:

Similar stem cells in insect and human gut
Darwinian Circular Reasoning
Darwin’s Dilemma
Biology, Dstortions

Post navigation

Previous Post: Darwin’s Dilemma
Next Post: Junk Darwinism Not Junk DNA

Comment (1) on “Creation of a Bacterial Cell Controlled by a Chemically Synthesized Genome”

  1. darwinofthegap says:
    April 8, 2012 at 11:57 pm

    Creating Life in the Lab: Fazale “Fuz” Rana

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Recent Posts

  • Darwinism : Just Another Magic Show
  • Darwinian Evolution Means No Change Over Time
  • Review of The Reviews on Ham-Nye Debate
  • Ken Ham will debate Bill Nye. Why?
  • Darwin’s Other Doubt

Recent Comments

  • Darwinian Evolution Means No Change Over Time » Teleological Blog on Evidence for Design
  • teleologist on Review of The Reviews on Ham-Nye Debate
  • sosalty on Review of The Reviews on Ham-Nye Debate
  • The Anatomy of Darwinism (Part 2) » Teleological Blog on The Avalos’ Bash
  • teleologist on Review of The Reviews on Ham-Nye Debate

Archives

  • September 2016
  • February 2015
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • July 2013
  • January 2013
  • September 2012
  • May 2010
  • September 2009
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007
  • June 2007
  • May 2007
  • April 2007
  • February 2007
  • January 2007
  • December 2006
  • November 2006
  • October 2006
  • September 2006
  • August 2006
  • July 2006
  • June 2006
  • May 2006
  • April 2006
  • March 2006
  • February 2006
  • January 2006
  • December 2005
  • November 2005
  • October 2005
  • September 2005
  • August 2005
  • July 2005
  • June 2005
  • May 2005
  • January 2005
  • December 2004

Categories

  • Atheism
  • Biology
  • blog specific issues
  • Creationism
  • Darwinism
  • Dstortions
  • Education
  • entertainment
  • Evolution
  • Holidays
  • Humor
  • Intelligent Design
  • Liberal-Humanism
  • OEC
  • Philosophy
  • Theology
  • Uncategorized
  • YEC

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Copyright © 2023 Teleological Blog.

Powered by PressBook WordPress theme