John
tiny excerpt:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_556000/556984.stm
By BBC News Online Science Editor Dr David Whitehouse
Scientists are close to finding the essence of life - at least on a genetic
level - and it comes down to about 300 genes.
US researchers think this is the minimum set of molecular instructions
required to build a living organism.
....