Comments on: Synthetic Life By the Year’s End? Yes, Proclaims Craig Venter.

By: Annalee

Annalee — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:24:08 +0000

The question you should be asking isn’t whether we should do this. The question is who will OWN it. You can bet that Venter’s motivation – as it always has been – is profit. Do you really want Venter’s company to own new lifeforms? The implications of this question are profound, and it’s what we need to be asking right now before it’s too late.

By: Mimi Stratton

Mimi Stratton — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 18:06:00 +0000

I’ve been against biotechnology ever since reading the foreword to Jurassic Park.

By: Michael Connolly

Michael Connolly — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:47:51 +0000

#7 – Optimist – “ ‘Tampering with the most basic elements of nature’ is what we call technology, and many of these technologies hold the promise of longer and healthier lives. Why can’t we focus on that, instead of doomsday and apocalyptic scenarios?”

Gee, maybe the fact that the way we manage technology is resulting in genes hopping from genetically modified plants to other species, rapid desertification, sea level rise, new diseases, the near collapse of the global economy (and billions of bonuses for the clowns who drove the economy into a ditch), a worldwide epidemic of obesity and diabetes, and then there’s the new popularity of torture in the United States and the fact that our communications are regularly scanned by the NSA – maybe these uses of technology might lead someone to hesitate before tinkering with Life’s Operating System….

Nah, what the hey! Go for it ! We’re Number One! Merka!

By: matthew burns

matthew burns — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:05:18 +0000

lets do it, this is the next step in setting up life on mars, and cleaning up this global oil addiction, and money problems.

By: Mike S

Mike S — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:30:40 +0000

Go Craig !

… but try and leave the “religious” strands of DNA out of the mix :o)

By: Firebird

Firebird — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 07:58:28 +0000

The gods are created in our image – because we create them.

We should not do things just because we can. Artificial life certainly has potential at least comparable to stemcells. We should do AL (and other things) if they benefit and don’t harm to much. This is always the tricky balance (most medical treatment is harmfull but normally more helpfull), but if we never ventured beyond the non-harmfull we would still be in the trees.

So: Move on, Venter!

By: Godfree Gordon

Godfree Gordon — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:34:59 +0000

“There is a move to reinvent mankind, to modify the very grammar of life as planned and willed by God. (Gen. 1:27, 2:24) But, to take God’s place, without being God, is insane arrogance, a risky and dangerous venture.”

I think the Pope’s accent got in the way. I thik he meant to say :a risky and dangerous VENTER” :-)

By: Mbee

Mbee — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:08:12 +0000

Science and Technology are the way we learn about the world and find the truth about life. This can help improve the lives of ourselves and of those who follow. It is up to humans to use what they discover to improve life for others. Unfortunately there are those who want to use the knowledge to hurt or harm others. That however is a human problem and not one caused by science. (DDT was aimed at helping and when it caused problems we came up with a solution – and moved on)

If we hadn’t evolved to look and learn about our world around us and use that knowledge to grow and discover more we would still be fighting in tribes against other tribes. We don’t ‘need’ technology to do that – we’ve been doing that for many thousands of years. Hopefully the more we learn the less we will need to fight each other.

By: Odin Xenobuilder

Odin Xenobuilder — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:36:58 +0000

I can’t wait to get an algae oil factory set up on my back porch and grow oil for my car. :-) I’ll keep my eyes open for the Synthetic Genomics mail order service to get my home petrol kit. *waiting expectantly*

By: Synchronium

Synchronium — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:01:18 +0000

Craig Venter is my new hero. He looks like he should have the lair of a super-villain.

By: Kmita

Kmita — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:17:47 +0000

Every post I see with the word ethics in it I’ve been passing over. Sorry to inform you but your sense of morality is subjective and essentially worthless in determining whether or not we should create synthetic life. Let’s reiterate, your morality is subjective. Doing this is neither “right” nor “wrong”. The only thing objectively true here is that you’re a moron if your flinging these things around as if they’re poignant thoughts.

By: Mitch

Mitch — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:27:58 +0000

If we can, we should. No question about it. If it progresses us into the future like pretty much every scientific but controvercial breakthrough, then it will balance out with nature and everyday life. It doesn’t mean it’s the end of humanity just because humanity is progressing its self intothe future. And if you’re gonna throw the playing god card out, don’t we play god on almost an everyday basis? It’s time to stop reading a fiction book with no relavant proof of it’s topic or basis and it’s time to pick up the next issue of Discover.

By: Optimist

Optimist — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:50:05 +0000

Boy, it only took 6 replies before someone brought up Hitler. It reminds me of the level of discourse in our current health care reform debates. If god didn’t mean for us to tinker with “his creation”, then he wouldn’t have given us the means and intellect to do it. “Tampering with the most basic elements of nature” is what we call technology, and many of these technologies hold the promise of longer and healthier lives. Why can’t we focus on that, instead of doomsday and apocalyptic scenarios?

By: James Sweet

James Sweet — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:34:02 +0000

What exactly are these ethical concerns??? I’m a bit puzzled.

I do think that great care needs to be taken when creating any type of self-replicator, whether that be synthetic life, “nanobots”, or macro-sized replicating machines. There is the whole “grey goo” apocalypse scenario. We can debate how likely or unlikely that is, but I don’t think it’s overly credulous to suggest that research into this sort of thing ought to be well-regulated, so that an experimental self-replicator does not escape the lab.

But even if this is a real concern, it’s a safety issue, not an ethical one. Where is the ethical issue? I just don’t get it… Are you worried that this synthetic bacteria will gave a soul? hahahaha…

By: Mombo

Mombo — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:43:47 +0000

Craig Venter is GOD!
I saw an interview with Craig once and the interviewer said “you are playing god”, Craig replied, “someone has to”