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Creating Synthetic Life

Premieres: Southeast Asia on Jul 4 at 10:00 pm; North Asia on Sept 26 at 10:00 pm

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DISCOVERY CHANNEL ANNOUNCES THE DEBUT OF EXCLUSIVE LOOK INTO DR J. CRAIG VENTER'S CREATION OF SYNTHETIC LIFE

World-renowned scientist Dr J. Craig Venter and his team at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) have become the first in history to synthetically create a living, self-replicating cell. What exactly does today's news mean for the human race? Where exactly will it take us? Could the technology be used for negative purposes?  What are the ethical concerns we must weigh before using it? This month, Discovery Channel chronicles the five-year journey of discovery and reveals the life-changing significance and potential risks of CREATING SYNTHETIC LIFE

Dr J. Craig Venter is regarded as one of the leading scientists of the 21st century for his numerous invaluable contributions to genomic research. He is Founder and President of the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), a not-for-profit, research and support organisation with more than 400 scientists and staff dedicated to human, microbial, plant and environmental genomic research, the exploration of social and ethical issues in genomics, and seeking alternative energy solutions through genomics. Now, Dr Venter and his team at the JCVI make history as the first to create a self-replicating, living cell. This marks a huge step in not only in research, but for potential for solutions to a host of global challenges including generating new food sources, pharmaceuticals and vaccines; cleaning up pollution; creating new energy sources; producing clean water; and more. 

CREATING SYNTHETIC LIFE takes you inside Dr Venter's pioneering quest and reveals the failures, successes and breakthrough moments of Dr Venter, Nobel Laureate Hamilton Smith, Dr Clyde Hutchison and JCVI researchers as they meticulously sought to create a synthetic single-celled organism over the course of five years.