We can create it, but can we patent it? – It’s big news: Scientists in the US have succeeded in developing the first living cell to be controlled entirely by synthetic DNA. The researchers constructed a bacterium’s “genetic software” and transplanted it into a host cell. Will the next step be building a human Frankenstein?
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Genetically-modified foods and cloning started the ball rolling and there’s no stopping it now: artificial life is on the way.
In the December 17th edition of the Washington Post, Rick Weiss reports that “researchers are poised to cross a dramatic barrier: the creation of life forms driven by completely artificial DNA.” According to Weiss, this ability will force a “rethinking of what it means for a thing to be alive.” He quotes anthropologist Paul Rabinow as saying, “This raises a range of big questions about what nature is and what it could be.”
Weiss quotes M.I.T. researcher Drew Endy as saying, “We’re heading into an era where people will be writing DNA programs like the early days of computer programming, but who will own these programs?”
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