Scientists Construct Synthetic Proteins That Sustain Life

ScienceDaily.com

ScienceDaily (Jan. 7, 2011) — In a groundbreaking achievement that could help scientists "build" new biological systems, Princeton University scientists have constructed for the first time artificial proteins that enable the growth of living cells.

This is a kind of 'Holy Grail' of molecular sciences. The ability to replicate synthetic proteins that sustain life can lead to HUGE advances in population sustainability, long-term manned space exploration, military applications such as underwater sustainment for years at a time..Synthetic proteins have long been sought after as a means to create low cost, high-nutrition, high volume foods.


Being able to replicate proteins can also lead to huge medical breakthroughs in regenerative techniques that may speed the healing of wounds and broken bones by a considerable amount.

The future is now folks...Now, how do we get a Replicator out of this? All we have to do now(in theory) is figure out how to use a computer and energy fields to manipulate and construct known proteins to make foods and clothing.

Ahh...The imagination is running wild with this one!

I'd like to add that this could be used to create burn creams that heal burns instantly, stitching that not only closes the wound, but immediately begins to replace the lost tissue. This will likely result in scar-less healing.

The possibilities of protein manipulation are basically endless.

www.sciencedaily.com...

Link was broken...

reply to post by projectvxn


Yeah, I heard about this. They're able to control the expression of a particular gene that's responsible for repairing damaged cells.

Problem is, the expression of this gene is also tied to acquiring cancer (where damaged cells just keep reproducing; thus cancer).

Some day though.. we'll live much much longer because of this. Hard to see 7 billion living much longer than we already do!! O_o

reply to post by igigi


That's not at all what they're talking about in the article.

They're talking about growing living cells and genomes
from scratch using what amounts to a newly discovered artificially
constructed protein substrate.

reply to post by projectvxn


Ah.. I see.. Well I heard the gene-therapy version on The Colbert Report; Ronald DePinho manipulates the gene responsible for repairing DNA.