Venter and his colleagues initially expected to be able to use as few as 300 genes to create a completely viable bacterium. However, the bacteria required 473, and this has led to a number of questions regarding the function of the genes. Scientists are currently unable to determine the purpose of about 1/3 of the genes in syn3.0. All they know, for sure, is that the genes are essential to life. Venter and his fellow scientists believe that 41% of unclassified the genes contribute to genome expression, 18% code for cell membrane structure and function, and 7% is responsible for preserving genomic information.
Constructing man-made life is always going to be a controversial topic. In a world that where religion is still vital to a large number of people, there will be arguments about the ethics of this field of science. Questions like, "who are we to create life?" will surely be asked. However, the scientific findings could be humongous. If we are able to manipulate the genome easily, we could possibly create cheaper more effective pharmaceutical drugs. Further, we can learn more about the genes that are necessary for syn3.0 to survive, and we can understand similar gene's significance in other bacterial cells.
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