First steps on the way to creating new organisms: transmission electron micrographs of Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-syn1."What I Cannot Create, I Cannot Understand" is a quote from Richard Feynman. I don't know when first heard this quote, but I heard it most recently when Craig Venter was announcing their new "synthetic life" (Venter actually said "What I Cannot Build, I Cannot Understand, so I'm not sure which is the more accurate quote). As well as the genetic coding needed for the organism to live and function, Venter's team added 4 codes or messages in their new bacterial genome, including the names of 46 scientific contributers, and url and several quotes.

This idea of understanding by creation/construction is the real value of what Venter and his team have achieved. I'm sure that in the future there will be a demand for "designed" or synthesized organisms, but at this pont it is what we can learn about life, gemonics, protemics, epigenetics, etc that is of immediate interest. Even Venter described the achievement of a synthetic genome as a "baby step", but let's not forget how important a bab's first steps are. Exciting times indded.