Organisms created with synthetic DNA pave way for entirely new life forms

E coli microbes have been modified to carry an expanded genetic code which researchers say will ultimately allow them to be programmed

From the moment life gained a foothold on Earth its story has been written in a DNA code of four letters. With G, T, C and A - the molecules that pair up in the DNA helix - the lines between humans and all life on Earth are spelled out.

Now, the first living organisms to thrive with an expanded genetic code have been made by researchers in work that paves the way for the creation and exploitation of entirely new life forms.