NewsPronto

 
The Times


.

USA Conversation

The Conversation USA

The Conversation USA

Synthetic biology promised to rewrite life – with the death of its pioneer, J. Craig Venter, how close are scientists?

  • Written by André O. Hudson, Dean of the College of Science, Professor of Biochemistry, Rochester Institute of Technology
imageFirst came the Human Genome Project, then came the field of synthetic biology.Alena Butusava/iStock via Getty Images Plus

When scientist J. Craig Venter and his team announced in 2010 that they had created the first cell controlled by a fully synthetic genome, it marked a turning point in how scientists think about life.

For the first time, DNA...

Read more: Synthetic biology promised to rewrite life – with the death of its pioneer, J. Craig Venter, how...

More Articles ...

  1. Gerrymandering is unpopular with Florida voters – my recent survey shows why DeSantis pushed it through anyway
  2. Three women sit for Israeli Rabbinate’s exam, amid growing recognition for Orthodox Jewish women’s religious leadership
  3. ‘A study showed…’ isn’t enough – scientific knowledge builds incrementally as researchers investigate and revisit questions
  4. Seeing an eclipse from Earth is awe-inspiring – for astronauts seeing one from space, the scene was even more grand
  5. Supreme Court ruling: The latest in history of diminishing minority voting rights
  6. What Trump’s post as a Jesus-like figure tells us about political messianism
  7. Warmer temps bring soaring tick populations – here’s how to stay safe from Lyme disease
  8. Supreme Court bolsters donors’ free speech rights in unanimous crisis pregnancy center ruling
  9. Universities returning Native American remains and artifacts isn’t just about physical objects – it’s about dignity and justice
  10. Americans care more about future generations than many think – and that gap could matter for policy
  11. The US has long used economic coercion to achieve foreign policy goals — the war in Iran shows how that power has declined
  12. How much should politics influence science, and vice versa? National Science Board’s ousting resurrects an existential debate
  13. Supreme Court considers how much states can protect consumers when federal agencies won’t
  14. Supreme Court geofencing case weighs constitutionality of digital dragnets – and how far your rights go in the data Big Tech collects on you
  15. Supreme Court considers whether police can use Big Tech data to capture info from all cellphone users in a place and time
  16. Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act ruling makes it harder to protect minority voting power and alters the landscape of future elections
  17. Students are taught to hide in closets and under tables if there is a school shooting – but does practicing for this possibility keep kids safe?
  18. Can the nearly $1 trillion-a-year US military really be depleting key weapons in Iran?
  19. What courage is, how to build it and why you should take a risk
  20. Reclassification of marijuana opens doors for much-needed medical research into the benefits and risks of the drug
  21. Stockings once worn by Philly’s wealthiest man show the value of women’s mending in early America
  22. Thousands of employed Colorado workers need SNAP benefits to make ends meet
  23. Trump’s Medicaid fraud crackdown may sound sensible, but it could harm Americans who require long-term care
  24. The race to mine critical minerals for AI and clean energy is creating ‘sacrifice zones’ that harm water and health of world’s poor
  25. UAE’s OPEC exit has been long in the works – and may mark the beginning of a Gulf realignment
  26. Facial recognition data is a key to your identity – if stolen, you can’t just change the locks
  27. More than 140,000 Americans die from COPD each year – here’s why survival depends on more than avoiding smoking
  28. Wearable glucose monitors offer real-time data, but for healthy people no guidelines exist to interpret the numbers
  29. How the concept of ‘medical freedom’ is reshaping the military’s decades-long stance on the flu vaccine mandate − and endangering troops’ readiness
  30. Reading gains in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana are often touted, but don’t show full picture of literacy
  31. Tapping your genome with AI and quantum computing could deliver on the promise of personalized medicine – but practical and ethical hurdles remain
  32. Your local storm forecast is likely based on weather miles away – we’re trying to bring it closer to home
  33. Why is water wet?
  34. Potential signs of life on distant planets sound exciting – but confirmation can take years
  35. Perseverance doesn’t always pay off for companies – sometimes it’s better to ‘fail fast’
  36. Texas proposes Bible readings for K-12 students, reigniting century-old legal battle over their place in public schools
  37. Donkeys are a symbol of endurance for Palestinians – they are also a target of settler violence and care
  38. America’s founding promise of religious freedom has long coexisted with prejudice, even as many Christians have worked to confront it
  39. Older Americans who vote live longer than those who don’t – new research
  40. Sora’s downfall signals broader problems with AI’s creative utility
  41. Latest attack threatening President Trump reflects rising political violence in US
  42. What to know about sex trafficking as Pittsburgh hosts the NFL draft
  43. Justice Department’s effort to strip citizenship from naturalized Americans could face widespread judicial pushback
  44. What the Declaration of Independence does – and doesn’t – say about God
  45. Meloni and Trump’s cooling relationship marks the failure of an EU-MAGA middle ground
  46. ‘Just war’ has guided Catholic thinking on conflict for centuries – including criticism of Iran war
  47. Boom in cremation hides surprising truths about what Americans really want when they die
  48. You probably wouldn’t notice if an AI chatbot slipped ads into its responses
  49. What is black garlic? How heat and humidity turn a pungent ingredient mild and slightly sweet
  50. ‘Affordable’ Pittsburgh doesn’t have enough affordable housing – here’s why