Scientists create a living organism
From cnn.com: "Scientists have turned inanimate chemicals into a living organism in an experiment that raises profound questions about the essence of life."
Okay, yes, all moral/philosophical questions aside, it's a remarkable accomplishment. However, the following gave me cause for concern:
M mycoides was chosen as a simple microbe with which to develop and prove the technology. It has no immediate application.
But scientists at the J. Craig Venter Institute and Synthetic Genomics, the company funding their research, intend to move quickly on to more useful targets that may not exist in nature.
They are particularly interested in designing algae that can capture carbon dioxide from the air and produce hydrocarbon fuels.
Yeah, it's that last sentence that bothers me. Hydrocarbon (a.k.a. fossil) fuels are things like coal, gas, etc. which, when burned off, contribute to the greenhouse effect and global warming. It takes millions of years for organic material to become a fossil fuel. And now we're trying to find a way to make the damned stuff in a lab, because we really like our cars.
Something else to consider: Synthetic Genomics just signed a $600 million deal with Exxon Mobil to make algal biofuels. You thought that the current oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico or the Exxon Valdez accident in 1989 were bad: what do you think will happen if carbon-eating alage are inadvertently released into an ecosystem?
Look, I'm not a smart guy, and when I read about things like this, where we're creating life so that we can keep our cars on the road, it makes me think that the "cavemen driving Ferraris" analogy is appropriate on too many levels. Please - please - could somebody allay my fears, tell me that I'm over-reacting here, that I'm just confused or naiive or something?