Why can't we create single-celled organisms?

Question

I understand that it's tough to build hardware from software, but it's not impossible is it?

My Biology book insists that it is - it doesn't question it at all, doesn't even discuss it: it just STATES that we can't create single-celled organisms.

Now, I know how hard it would be to both reproduce the situations by which life would be created and fully interpret the genome by which you might understand what you'd be creating, exactly, but...

It's all possible, isn't it?

So, the way I see it, I can establish that the conditions you need to create single-celled organisms are possible, albeit extremely tough to make occur - *maybe* impossible at today's level of biology, but, eventually, possible.

I don't understand how one can make the leap from that conclusion to the absolute statement that "Even if we knew the sequences of all of the genes of a single-celled organism and could cause those genes to be expressed in a test tube, we still could not create one of those organisms in the test tube."

Please, someone, explain this to me... It really seems like something I should know. Am I missing something?

Answer 1

I don't think it is impossible- I think it is something that many scientists are looking towards doing in the future. We have come to recognize that mice DNA is not as similar to Human DNA as we wanted it to be. My theory is that they will do so in order to experiment with diseases and cures. I do not think we are ready for this now, but I believe in the future we will begin to hear more about it. Unethical? No doubt about it. Though I don't think ethics is a huge concern among many scientists.

Craig Ventor is aiming towards this, I was researching this a while back- I am not sure how far he has gone with it - but that may interest you- to research on his project- type in " Craig Ventor creates life" in google.

Answer 2

It is possible. Read some of Craig Venter's stuff. This whole field is called synthetic biology and it's very interesting.

But here is the thing: you can't CREATE a cell, you can only put the genetic data of one cell into another so that it will change to the cell you want. Or you can create the genome you want, just like Craig Venter does with creating bacteria that turn CO2 into oil. But you can't create the organelles of a cell from scratch.

Other than that, not only you can create single cell organisms, but you can even create a very complex organism such as ourselves by cloning, which uses the same technique of transferring the genomic data into an 'empty' fertilized egg.  

Answer 3

Dear Asker...

What you have asked for, it does epitomises one to make and build a home not on the Moon or Mars, but directly on the Star [ alike our SUN having an impossiblities defined by its Thermal Valuity in n'oooK]

Yet for your applied understanding to re-define your own self for the Quantum Worth that every given Entity does holds as being a Microcosm, let me spell certain length of explications to honour you.

As generally known, We as Human are extant of Cellular-World being the productive genesis of the Chromosomes... as One Gamete from Mother and One gamete from Father. Chromosome is a product of Genes. As claimed to extol by scientific league that Human's Cell contains 23 pairs [ 46 ] of Chromosomes which in turn have 100,000 Genes with furtherance mathematics of a Gene having within its womb about 40 millions nucleotides. Each nucleotide is beyond a genesis of a meta-subjective Quantum-Energy... a predisposivity of Bio'Piezophotonics [Photons at Work-in-Progress] having the Permutation & Combination of Chromodynamics {Tithons}.

For your instant reference to ease self with simple knowledge to test self to understand it is that ... deconstruct the word CHROMOSOME into Chromo + Some.  CHROMO in Greek of erstwhile is COLOUR in today's English. Similarly, SOME in Greek is an adjective derivative of SOMA or SOMATIC which by meaning today is BODY in English.

..... Thus corroboratively .....Chromosome  =  Body of Colours coded in Genes unto further myriads beyond Nucleotides to embark Quantum Energy at Work.

Is ultimately the Permutation & Combination of the Piezophotonics playing an imponderable and exquisite manifestation as a discreet Orderliness of a Meta-Subjective Entties. This is a plenitudinal myriads of Sub-Quantum orientations and orderliness, that are the hosts of a sempiternal process of actionary, reactionary and inter-actionary activities, playing a great and grand, subtle & exquisite COSMIC Phenomena of "Quantum Soup [attraction] & Chaos [excitations]" amongst the entities like Quarks : Gluons : Positrons : Photons : Electrons : etc... all being the progenies of TITHONS.

Now, if any one having the answer to this Role'Conduct of Tithons palying their independent part in the Cellular World of Beingness at one side, whilst on the other side if any one can reduce these in a system to be pixelled into/unto alpha-numbericals encryptions, as such then it may be poosible only to think for a trial, and  that may sound POSSIBLE... But believe Me it would be like Human on Deputation for GOD.

To produce Cells on our self endeavours in Laboratory is a not only imprudent, but an Self-abusive Thought...  Lets, Be aware and admonished too for a known factum "Never Play With Nature... At Times Its Very Disasterous"

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