New virus with genetic code written by AI ‘is first step towards lab-grown life’

Evo-Φ2147 defeated the E. Coli in a petri dish (Credits: Getty Images)

Scientists have made the first step towards creating new species in the lab.

Researchers have used artificial intelligence to create a new virus to attack a colony of the deadly E.coli bacteria.

The team at Stanford University, California used AI to draw up the entire genome for the virus, codenamed Evo-Φ2147.

The breakthrough in synthetic biology marks the moment when Darwinian evolution could be upended...