Scientists create artificial virus

IT is the stuff of science fiction and bioethical debates: the creation of artificial life. Up until now, it’s largely been just that.

But an important technical bridge towards the creation of such life was crossed when genomics pioneer Craig Venter announced that his research group has created an artificial virus based on a real one in just two weeks' time.

When researchers created a synthetic genome (a genetic map) of the virus and implanted it into a cell, the virus became "biologically active," meaning it went to work reproducing itself.