WORLD
Life on Mars closer than ever for man claims scientist creating artificial life that feeds off carbon dioxide
Baku, August 26 (AZERTAC). A mission to Mars may seem like a distant dream to cash-strapped Nasa, but a controversial scientist says we are on the verge of a breakthrough that would enable humans to settle there.
U.S. scientist Craig Venter stunned the scientific community last year when he revealed that he had created the world`s first synthetic organism.
Now his team are working on engineering the cells to grow by consuming carbon dioxide - and he thinks we can harness this to set up camp on the Red Planet.
Engineered organisms would have huge implications for Earth, where it could potentially be used to stem climate change and help feed a population that will soon top seven billion.
`Obviously, food and fuel production are at the top of our list and society`s list,` Dr Venter told an audience at the TEDxNASA@SiliconValley event last week in San Francisco.
He said the technology could also be used to build a new civilisation on Mars, as its thin atmosphere is 95 per cent carbon dioxide, according to Space.com.
Undaunted, Dr Venter says his team are working on genetically engineering synthetic cells to use carbon dioxide to make food, fuel and plastics.