Scientists Use AI to Design New Life Forms from Scratch

Scientists just crossed a threshold that sounds like science fiction: they used AI to create an entirely synthetic virus for the first time.

After centuries of simply studying how life evolves, researchers are now authoring it. They're using artificial intelligence and genome engineering to design biological components from scratch, an approach called generative biology that's reshaping what's possible in biology.

The technology works like editing software code. AI systems redesign genomes digitally, rearranging the chemical bases that make up DNA. These programs predict how gene sequences relate to protein structures and functions, then run simulations to test how redesigned genomes might behave in real organisms.

Last year brought major milestones. Scientists used AI-assisted design to produce artificial genes that successfully expressed themselves in mammalian cells. The synthetic virus followed shortly after, proving that computers can now propose working genomes without copying from nature's existing templates.

Biochemist Adrian Woolfson explores where this leads in his new book "On the Future of Species." He envisions a future "species catalogue," a repository containing all the information needed to design countless life forms. Researchers could create custom organisms for specific purposes: bacteria that produce innovative medicines, crops naturally resistant to pests without needing pesticides, or microbes engineered to break down pollution.

The potential extends beyond individual organisms. As life's patterns become more predictable and manipulable through computational tools, scientists gain power to correct disease-causing mutations and design proteins that evolution never produced.

The Bright Side

This isn't just theoretical anymore. Real applications are already emerging from labs worldwide. The technology promises solutions to problems that seemed insurmountable through traditional biology, from environmental cleanup to food security.

The path forward does have challenges. Scientists still struggle to predict how individual genes affect each other's expression. Organismal development depends heavily on context, like bee larvae that become workers or queens based on nutrition, not just genetics.

Building designed organisms in the lab brings its own hurdles. The synthetic yeast genome project started in 2006 but only completed its last chromosomes in 2025. Assembling the pieces proved labor-intensive, and researchers are still solving how to fit whole chromosomes into cells properly.

There's also evolution's tendency toward one-way streets. A decades-long experiment tracking E. coli bacteria showed how one culture surprisingly evolved to metabolize citrate instead of glucose, probably because early mutations locked it onto that distinct path. Small genome edits today could similarly eliminate future options for entire lineages.

Scientists are watching for these irreversible choices. Removing what seems like an unnecessary biosynthesis pathway now could prevent all future descendants from ever having it again. Too much editing might create organisms that can't adapt to changing environments.

Despite these complexities, the technology is advancing rapidly. What once seemed impossible is becoming routine, and researchers are learning to navigate the constraints thoughtfully.

The future of life on Earth is becoming something we can actively shape, not just observe.