That new bacterium species we synthesized

[firecat]

Link via brooksmoses

http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100519/full/news.2010.253.html
(emphasis mine)

The custom-built genome is a near-exact replica of its natural counterpart, with just a few nonessential genes removed and a small number of sequence errors that don't affect the organism's function. The group also added four special 'watermark sequences' to help to distinguish it from the original version. The sequences contain a hidden code of names and sentences, along with a URL and an e-mail address for would-be decoders to contact.

.........

I don't know why, but that's the part that blows my mind the most.

(The icon is from a report about an earlier genetic experiment that gave trichromatic color vision to mice.)

Comments

[eftychia]

I'm going to wait for a transcript to show up on the show's web site instead of bothering to transcribe it myself, but I liked the comments on Charlie Rose (PBS) that (paraphrased):

• This isn't artificial life; artificial life is what you have on a computer. This is real life, self-replicating and everything, but designed by humans.
• This is the first organism whose parent is a computer.

In a few days, I'll go looking for the exact quotes.

I also appreciated the bit about the importance of watermarking such things (so as to not confuse the evolutionary record, among other things), though I wasn't listening as closely then as I should've been.