Scientists Create Tiniest Life Form Yet, Not Sure What It Is

For years, DNA and computer operating systems served as clichés for each other: DNA is the “operating software” of living cells in the same way that system software is the “DNA” of a computer.

The problem with the comparison, as shown by research two decades in the making, is how much biologists still don't know about DNA, or genomes. That's an especially problematic development, given the industry sprouting up around genetic manipulation.

Genomics pioneer Craig Venter and more than 20 colleagues engineered a living microbe with a genome simpler than any seen in nature. In other words, they created a life form whose relative simplicity and modular design make it a platform that one day may be as easily manipulated as, say, software. Setting aside fears of Blade Runner replicants running amok, the breakthrough revealed on Thursday in the journal Science may hold promise for a new era in medicine, industry, and energy.