subbie writes:
I will deny that everything that has been created in science has had a designer.
This artificial genome didn't really have a designer in the lab either. It was created using a sequencer to duplicate an existing genome. Sticking a document in a xerox and making a copy of it, does not make you the designer of the second document.
Furthermore, no life was created. The sequenced genome was placed in an already living cell, whose own nucleus had just been removed. A PC analogy would be, to swap out the hard drive while the computer is up and running.
Flyer75 writes:
I don't think there are any evolutionists claiming this proves evolution in the sense of soup to man
That's correct. The abiogenesis version of this experiment will have to start with raw materials, simulate relevant environmental conditions, and use no living material it does not itself generate. This is probably still years away, and will almost certainly be a long series of separate processes rather than a single experiment.
Much of it is already done, however. I currently lean toward soup to nuts on top, the sandwich down below, bubble wars involving both PNAs, and a fairly normal DNA World as the hybrid sole survivor. Recent advances by the RNA people are making me squint though.
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