As DNA design, synthesis, and testing methods have improved researchers have begun exploring the systematic refactoring, minimization, or rebuilding of natural genomes. However, genome engineering should not be constrained to merely reconstituting what already exists. Genomes encode organisms, and the time is right to engineer whole novel organisms.
Build-A-Cell is an open source project to create a core genome (a "biokernel") that can boot a genome-less cell into growth and division. We hope that the biokernel will form the basis for a new collaborative bioengineering ecosystem. Such a platform would enable the realization of an infinite number of organisms limited only by ingenuity and creativity.
Read the documentation and blog for updates.