Life at the Speed of Light: From the Double Helix to the Dawn of Digital Life

Description

On May 20, 2010, headlines around the world announced one of the most extraordinary accomplishments in modern science: the creation ot he world's first synthetic life-form. With the ability to actually write the software of life, we now have the knowledge not only to guide our own future development, but also to design new species to help us adapt and evolve for our long-term survival. In Life at the speed of light, scientist J. Craig Venter, best known for sequencing the human genome, shares the dramatic account of how he led a team of researchers in this pioneering effort in synthetic genomics - and how that work will have a profound impact on our existence in the years to come.;Dublin, 1943-2012 -- Chemical synthesis as proof -- Dawn of the digital age of biology -- Digitizing life -- Synthetic Phi X 174 -- First synthetic genome -- Converting one species into another -- Synthesis of the M. Mycoides genome -- Inside a synthetic cell -- Life by design -- Biological teleportation -- Life at the speed of light.