Escherichia coli, nobody’s favorite dinner guest, just had the distinction of becoming the first living organism to have its entire DNA code successfully replaced with a synthetic genome. We’ve played with nature’s creations before, but this is the first time we’ve completely reprogrammed them. The experiment was conducted by researchers at the University of Cambridge and led by biologist Jason Chin. It involved creating a complete artificial genome with everything the scientists believed an organism needs to live – and nothing it doesn’t. This streamlined code then replaced the E coli bacteria’s until the new life form no longer had…

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