Animated DNA chain. Image courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org

Speaking of bad ideas, how did this happen? No, really, cause I wanna know! What possible good thing could you get out of this besides global extermination and a horrible and painful death? Not to be a religious nut (cause I’m not, I’m Agnostic-Paranoid) but, I would leave life creation to someone with more experience. No, not God, mother nature!!
For the first time in the history of humanity, man creates a life form created entirely with man-made DNA. Most people would see miraculous cures, new fuels and even new sources of food but not me. No sir! I see new diseases, biologic terrorism, custom ebola and other nightmares!

The decade and a half effort to make the synthetic cell cost about $40 million, about $30 million of which was provided by Synthetic Genomics Inc., said J. Craig Venter, the Rockville- based company’s chief executive officer, in a telephone call with reporters. The U.S. Department of Energy also provided some funds, he said.

Venter is one of the scientists who developed fast DNA- decoding techniques that helped bring the Human Genome Project to an early conclusion 10 years ago. His team of scientists painstakingly copied the genome of the bacterium, called a Mycoplasma, into a computer and then made or ordered pieces, which they then had to biochemically stitch together into a working sequence.

DNA is the code that tells cells when and how to make proteins, the building blocks of all life forms. Venter and his colleagues are researching ways to command cells to make substances such as efficient biofuels. The creation of a cell whose genome is completely under human control is a crucial step towards achieving those ends, the research group said.

I’m totally fine with cloning organs and growing them on a rat’s ass to be transplanted to humans instead of waiting on a never-ending organ transplant  list, I am totally okay with transgenic vegetables that would feed millions of people in poverty-stricken countries, I’m even okay with synthetically generated food, I don’t care, really. As long as it doesn’t poison me and tastes good I am all mouth & teeth. But, THIS!? I mean, dude, how many man-made disasters do we need to understand that we are a danger to ourselves? Perhaps we’ll never learn… 

Visit businessweek.com to find out more about how the world may end: Life Form Created With Man-Made DNA Offers Benefits, Dangers. I’m off to buy some gas masks, biohazard suits and penicillin.