“Craig Venter, the controversial DNA researcher involved in the race to decipher the human genetic code, has built a synthetic chromosome out of laboratory chemicals and is poised to announce the creation of the first new artificial life form on Earth.”
Ed Cognoski responds:You ain't seen nothin' yet. In a Salon interview, Freeman Dyson talks about what to expect. There's much to ponder there. Here's a sample:
Dyson: "[Biotech] is now regarded with great suspicion because it's in the hands of big corporations and they do things that people disapprove of, like putting poisonous genes into crop plants. It's become politically unpopular. But I think that it's going to become domesticated so that do-it-yourself kits will become more available to everyone. You will be able to read and write your own genomes and produce roses and orchids and lizards and snakes or any kinds of creatures, according to your own design."
And then this morning, I heard on NPR a story about scientists genetically modifying rice to make it more resistant to being submerged in water. Potentially, this could prevent starvation of millions of people in places like Bangladesh where monsoons routinely flood rice fields. Somewhere, God is smiling at the handiwork of scientists.
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