Richard Kitney: 'This would just not be possible in the back of a garage'

THIS work represents a very important step forward in scientific research.

The researchers have essentially mapped the genetic make-up of a bacterium called M mycoides, which is made up of one million parts (known as base pairs) of DNA.

This information was then sent to a company called Blue Heron near Seattle so that they could recreate the genome synthetically, using chemicals.

They did this in sets of 1,000 DNA pieces – called cassettes. The synthesised cassettes were then sent back to Dr Craig Venter.

The researchers pasted the cassettes together using yeast, creating a completely synthetic genome of one million base pairs.

The next step was to put this genome into another cell type (M caricolum) which has had its own genetic material removed.

They managed to get this to react and "boot up" the cell so it started to multiply.

After two or three generations, these cells essentially became identical to the original bacterium, which was not synthetic.

A cell is a basic manufacturing unit.

This technology could be used to drive and create things that do not actually exist in nature.

You could also modify other cells to do what you wanted them to do.

For example, you could use these techniques in algae, modifying it so it is instructed to react to sunlight to produce oil and oxygen. This could lead to the production of biofuels for us to use.

It is all to do with being able to control cells.

This is a major breakthrough. There is a lot of exciting work going on in this field across the world, but this is a very important building block.

We should now be trying this on different types of cells to see what other applications it could have.

The potential for this technology to be used for unethical purposes has been raised.

All this work is done in licensed laboratories and research institutes and is closely controlled.

We don't want to be complacent about these issues, but this kind of work is highly sophisticated and you have to have highly trained people to conduct it. It would just not be possible in the back of a garage.

We need to keep a close check on the security issues, but right now this is not much of a problem.

• Professor Richard Kitney is co-director of the Centre for Synthetic Biology at Imperial College, London.