By April MacIntyre May 26, 2010, 20:12 GMT
There's "life" after Lost for actor Michael Emerson, who will narrate a compelling documentary on the Science Channel.
Undated handout photo from the J. Craig Venter Institute in San Diego, California, USA, shows negatively stained transmission electron micrographs of aggregated M. mycoides. Scientists announced on 20 May 2010 that they produced a living cell powered by manmade DNA, a step towards the posibility of constructing artificial life. EPA/J. CRAIG VENTER INSTITUTE
The Science Channel is allowing you to submit questions to the man who has turned the science world on its axis: Dr. Craig Venter.
Last week Dr Venter announced that his team created the first living, self-replicating synthetic cell.
After mapping on a computer the complete DNA code of a bacterium, the team led by Venter, inserted the synthesized DNA into a bacteria cell, which was then able to replicate and be controlled by the synthetic genome.
Synthetic cells could be used to convert carbon dioxide into fuel or to create new vaccines for treating diseases, Venter told CNN May 22.
Immediately the reaction was both awe of the accomplishment, and then fear; could the technology be used for negative purposes? What are the ethical concerns we must weigh before using it?
An official communique from the Vatican was issued by the pope clarifying the Catholic stance. The Vatican newspaper reported that these scientists had not created life, but had "substituted one of its engines."
Venter's creation has produced "an interesting result," which could have many applications, but the new technology "must have rules just like everything that lies at the heart of life," it said in an article published on May 23.
"Genetic engineering can be used for good," particularly in treating genetic diseases, it said, however, caution must be exercised as "many people in fact are concerned about the possible future developments of genetically modified organisms."
Now, Science Channel airs the world premiere of Creating Synthetic Life, Thursday, June 3, 2010, at 8 PM (ET) sharing the process of this breakthrough exclusively.
Science Channel has tapped Emmy® Award winning actor and “Lost” alumnus Michael Emerson to narrate the special.
At 9pm, Science Channel presents Creating Synthetic Life: Your Questions Answered with Emmy Award winning journalist Paula Zahn hosting a roundtable discussion with Dr. Venter; journalist and author Michael Specter; futurist, inventor and author Raymond Kurzweil; George Church, professor of genetics at Harvard University; Father Nicanor Pier Giorgio Austriaco and others, exploring important ethical, scientific and societal questions surrounding Dr. Craig Venter’s recent announcement.
Viewers can log on now through May 26 to http://sciencechannel.com/ to submit questions
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