US researchers today said they have created an artificial bacteria-eating virus — in just 14 days and from synthetic genes. The PHI-X174 bacteriophage was developed from its genetic code. It took the scientists just 14 days to make the artificial virus — against several years for other methods — according to the National Academy of Sciences. The breakthrough could be the first step toward helping fight certain diseases or gobbling up toxic waste. It could also help create organisms that can live in extreme conditions such as radioactivity and intense pollution. The work was led by Craig Venter, the head of the Institute for Biological Energy Alternatives (IBEA), who has also been involved in mapping the human genome sequence. Scientists had previously built a poliovirus from parts of other living things in stages. However, Venter’s team began ‘‘from scratch’’ — using commercially available products. They also used off-the-shelf techniques that scientists have been developing for 30 years. In order to achieve such rapid results, scientists adapted a technique that produces a double-stranded copy of an individual gene sequence. The technique is used to decode DNA for forensic identification of criminals as well as for medical purposes. (PTI)
