You know, the scientific issues may be much less complicated than the moral, ethical, and legal issues that go along with this scientific advance.

Around the world, a handful of scientists are trying to create life from scratch and they're getting closer.

Experts expect an announcement within three to 10 years from someone in the now little-known field of "wet artificial life."

"It's going to be a big deal and everybody's going to know about it," said Mark Bedau, chief operating officer of ProtoLife of Venice, Italy, one of those in the race. "We're talking about a technology that could change our world in pretty fundamental ways — in fact, in ways that are impossible to predict."

That first cell of synthetic life — made from the basic chemicals in DNA — may not seem like much to non-scientists. For one thing, you'll have to look in a microscope to see it.

"Creating protocells has the potential to shed new light on our place in the universe," Bedau said. "This will remove one of the few fundamental mysteries about creation in the universe and our role."

And several scientists believe man-made life forms will one day offer the potential for solving a variety of problems, from fighting diseases to locking up greenhouse gases to eating toxic waste.

Now scientists expect that artificial lifeforms will have short lifespans and will be unable to escape controlled settings and take over like in a sci-fi flick. However, this begs the question of how far such research should be taken -- after all, might more durable life forms eventually be created? What is their status? And should the secrets of life itself be proprietary information?

Ultimately, the question becomes very basic -- is there a place where our science should not go?

Posted by: Greg at 10:38 PM | Comments (23) | Add Comment
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