Are we creating artificial life?

Scientists have come one step closer towards creating artificial life. Yes artificial life.

Last June Craig Venter of Craig Venter institute in Rockville Maryland announced that they have successfully synthesized an entire genome or genetic blueprint of a bacteria using lab chemicals.

In other words the genome is entirely synthetic. It is a momentous step indeed. This brings mankind to the second last step towards creating artificial life.

The final step would be to replace the genome of a bacteria with this artificial genome and “reboot” the bacteria into life.

Last June the Craig Venter institute successfully inserted the DNA of one species of a bacteria into another species and that bacteria managed to come to life with an entirely different genome.

Have we gone too far?

Given the extremely rapid advances made in this field, legal oversight has not caught up. Therefore this kind of research is entirely left to the self-regulation of the researchers.

As a former biochemist myself,I know how empowering research breakthroughs can be. Scientists are usually motivated by this sense of empowerment and sense of satisfaction.
The question is whether we have opened a Pandora’s box?

Please share your views.