Scientists have created a living organism whose DNA is entirely human-made — perhaps a new form of life, experts said, and a milestone in the field of synthetic biology. ... The achievement one day may lead to organisms that produce novel medicines or other valuable molecules, as living factories.

Can scientists create a living cell?

Five years ago, scientists created a single-celled synthetic organism that, with only 473 genes, was the simplest living cell ever known. ... “If this cell can help us to discover and understand those rules, then we're off to the races.” Scientists at JCVI constructed the first cell with a synthetic genome in 2010.

Can scientists create life in a lab?

SYNTHETIC cells made by combining components of Mycoplasma bacteria with a chemically synthesised genome can grow and divide into cells of uniform shape and size, just like most natural bacterial cells. The cells were named JCVI-syn3. ...