Synthetic life 'advance' reported
By Helen Briggs Science reporter, BBC News
Thursday, 24 January 2008

M. genitalium has one of the smallest known genomesAn important step has been taken in the quest to create a synthetic lifeform.

A US team reports in Science magazine how it built the entire DNA code of a common bacterium in the laboratory using blocks of genetic material.

The group hopes eventually to use engineered genomes to make organisms that can produce clean fuels and take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. the rest image