[extropy-chat] Virus built from scratch

[Giu1i0 Pri5c0]

There is another article on the Economist:
The Economist <a
href="http://www.economist.com/science/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2224008">re
ports</a> on the first successful attempt to create artificial life.
although a group of biologists at the State University of New York, Stony
Brook, did, indeed, once make something they said was the genome of a polio
virus, it was so feeble that it could barely infect a cell and reproduce
itself. It also took them years to put together, whereas the IBEA genome is
fully functional and was the work of a fortnight. The Stony Brook effort, in
other words, was a biological version of Sir Hiram Maxim's heavier-than-air
flying machine. It just about got off the ground. But history recognises the
Wright brothers, not Maxim, as the true pioneers of powered flight.

-----Original Message-----
From: extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org
[mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org]On Behalf Of Emlyn
O'regan
Sent: domingo, 16 de noviembre de 2003 23:25
To: 'ExI chat list'
Subject: RE: [extropy-chat] Virus built from scratch


Definitely they only built the DNA. Still, I think that counts; you start
with a prokaryote and a bunch of bases, and end up with a happily
replicating virus; pretty solid stuff as far as I'm concerned.

Emlyn

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Alfio Puglisi [mailto:puglisi at arcetri.astro.it]
> Sent: Friday, 14 November 2003 11:40 PM
> To: ExI chat list
> Subject: Re: [extropy-chat] Virus built from scratch
>
>
>
> It not clear from the article if they only built the DNA
> molecule, or the
> whole virus. I suspect the first :-) Anyone has more information?
>
> Ciao,
> Alfio