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Remove This, Remove That, and (Bam!) It's a New Organism

Oct 08, 2007

With a team of 20 scientists, J. Craig Venter made an artificial chromosome 580,000 base pairs long, and with 381 genes, reports The Guardian. The sequence is based on Mycoplasma genitalium but the researchers removed one-fifth of its genome, leaving only what was necessary for it to live. The team calls the organism Mycoplasma laboratorium and they have applied for a patent, adds the news report.

Breaking News
The Scan

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