Researchers in the lab of genome pioneer Craig Venter have built an artificial copy of a bacterium's genome from scratch in the lab. Last year Venter's team transplanted a bacterial genome from one cell into another. The new work, reported this week in the journal Science, marks another step towards being able to create artificial life by inserting an entirely synthetic genome into a bacterial cell. Is it possible to create life from scratch? And is it right?
Produced by Karin Vergoth