Well, some exciting news from the world of science today. It seems that Dr Craig Venter and his colleagues have managed to create a synthetic life form. Well, bacterium at least.

I won’t regurgitate the details of the experiment here – not when you take a look for yourself via the link below. But I will just air a few thoughts that I have floating round inside the old noggin right now.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/science_and_environment/10132762.stm

Life. What the hell is it all about? Some give it meaning with religion, some do so through art while others take a nihilist, fatalistic view. Whichever field you’ve pitched your tent in, when something comes along like this then you find yourself asking a few questions. Namely: is everything you believe wrong?

Let’s think about God for starters. If life can be created by a couple of guys fooling around in a lab then doesn’t that kind of undermine everything that’s proposed in Genesis? Of course, this is more a philosophical idea rather than scientific but it’s worth considering. I mean, seriously, think about it. It’s conceivable that in the near to mid future we can all be gods. We can all have our own species designed and created for us. And if it’s that easy then what place does God have in our society? Indeed maybe God was nothing more than some guy messing about with a chemistry set. And in that case does he even deserve the level of worship and adulation bestowed upon him…that’s if you believe in such things in any case. With most of the planet still describing themselves as ‘believers’, what impact could that have on our species?

There is also a temptation to think that this experiential reduces life to chemical interactions and bits of DNA being injected here or there…and that is depressing. It removes that sense of mystery that we have about life. You know, the idea that it’s somehow special. And does that make us question the value of human rights? After all, what is human life if it can be easy replicated in a lab?

There will be lots of thoughts like this in the media in the next few days. But I will say one thing: just because something feels uncomfortable or we don’t like it, it doesn’t mean that we should reject it out of hand. It doesn’t mean that we should ignore it and pretend it doesn’t exist. Despite some reservations I may have there are many positives to this work as well. Maybe it will help us solve climate change. Maybe it will trigger a new Industrial Revolution. But let’s take our time and not get carried away. Let’s take a measured and sensible approach. Let’s make sure that unknown organisms aren’t just unleashed on unwitting ecosystems without prior care and attention. But ultimately let’s make sure that this becomes a force for good – and not the stuff of science fiction nightmares.

Thoughts?