WEF-backed scientists, funded by a £10 million Wellcome Trust grant, have achieved a chilling breakthrough by growing the first artificial human from real flesh, as part of the Synthetic Human Genome Project. This controversial endeavor, involving top universities like Oxford, Cambridge, and Imperial College, aims to craft human DNA from scratch, raising profound ethical questions about the creation of synthetic life.
The project focuses on constructing a fully synthetic human chromosome, representing roughly 2% of human DNA, as a proof of concept for eventually synthesizing an entire human genome. DNA, composed of nucleotides that encode our genetic identity, is being artificially replicated to potentially build humans from the ground up, a goal critics warn could redefine humanity itself with unforeseen consequences.
NDTV.com reports: “The sky is the limit. We are looking at therapies that will improve people’s lives as they age, that will lead to healthier ageing with less disease as they get older,” Dr Julian Sale, of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, who is part of the project, told the BBC.
“We are looking to use this approach to generate disease-resistant cells we can use to repopulate damaged organs, for example, in the liver and the heart, even the immune system,” he said.
As per Professor Matthew Hurles, director of the Wellcome Sanger Insititute, studying how genes and DNA regulate our bodies could help us pinpoint when they go wrong and ultimately develop better treatments.
“Building DNA from scratch allows us to test out how DNA really works and test out new theories, because currently we can only really do that by tweaking DNA in DNA that already exists in living systems,” said Mr Hurles.
However, not everyone is seemingly convinced by the idea of humans playing gods. Professor Bill Earnshaw, a genetic scientist at Edinburgh University who designed a method for creating artificial chromosomes, said the technology could be commercialised quickly by healthcare companies.
“The genie is out of the bottle. We could have a set of restrictions now, but if an organisation who has access to appropriate machinery decided to start synthesising anything, I don’t think we could stop them.”
Dr Pat Thomas, director of the campaign group Beyond GM, said even though scientists are there to work for the good of humans, the project may cause “harm”.
“We like to think that all scientists are there to do good, but the science can be repurposed to do harm and for warfare,” said Dr Thomas.
Reacting to the news, a section of social media users said the experiments could go wrong, while others expressed optimism that it could lead to a better quality of life for people.
“Corporate grown employees coming soon. What a wonderful world we live in,” said one user while another added: “Can’t see this going wrong in a sci-fi horror type way at all.”
A third commented: “This is so cool. I hated growing up with eczema. It would’ve improved my life so much to not have that issue.”
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