Whatever one's position (.pdf) might be on the significance of Craig Venter's technical accomplishment, these synthetic bacteria - Mycoplasma mycoides - have been in the news quite a bit this week. M. mycoides are shown here as an electron micrograph, which was prepared by Tom Deerinck and Mark Ellisman of the National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research at UC San Diego.
Previously: The quest to create artificial life and Venter's "synthetic life" is a different disc in an old player (but it's still music)
