This is the point where all the stories about Google spying on us or using photo recognition software pale.This is where science fiction and science fact merge in a dazzling and potentially frightening way.
Scientists under the supervision of Dr. Craig Venter of the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) in Maryland and California announced today that they have developed the first synthetic living cell. The research team managed to construct a bacterium's "genetic software" and transplant it into a host cell which then took on the appearance and behavior of the synthetic DNA.
The ultimate stated goal of JCVI is to design bacterial cells that will produce medicines and fuels and possibly even absorb greenhouse gases. Yet, critics caution that that synthetic organisms pose dangers. Dr. Helen Wallace of Genewatch UK, a watchdog group that monitors developments in genetic technologies, is reported by BBC News as have stated that the the release of "new organisms into the environment, ... can do more harm than good. By releasing them into areas of pollution," she added, "you're actually releasing a new kind of pollution.We don't know how these organisms will behave in the environment."
An even more dramatic doomsday scenario was spelled out by Prof. Julian Savulescu, of the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, who noted that "These [artificial life forms] could be used in the future to make the most powerful bioweapons imaginable. The challenge is to eat the fruit without the worm."
This much seems certain: We are entering a new phase in the generation of life. Where we go from here is a chapter yet to be written.
Irrefutable proof of Intelligent Design...
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