Craig Venter sez his team's about to create artificial life

This is amazing.

Synthetic Genomics Inc., has already filed controversial patents on synthetic bugs, which could make fuels such as ethanol or hydrogen.

Anyone who could write this without flinching is a moron.

We'll turn lead into gold, make the lame to see, the blind to walk, oh I am Dr. Ironbeard, twilli-willi-wit-boom-boom.

Announcements of world-shattering science published in -- Science? Uh, no. Would you believe, Nature? Erm, no. How 'bout MAD? I don't think so, Max. OK, Businessweek on-line.

Like Venter's ever hidden that he wants to get even *more* stinkin' rich out of all this. And what's he going to do, take it with him?

I'm essentially ambivalent towards Venter -- on the one hand the Romanticist impulse towards some sort of individualistic 'I will drag humanity out of the mire into the cold light of science' stance (not as contradictory as you might think) is something that appeals to my adolescent self. On the flip, it's my *adolescent* self, not my current one, and I'd rather be deeply cynical than starry-eyed. No question that the guy's a supreme marketer.

i think the claims he's making as far as artificial life go are not so far-fetched... (i used to work in the biotech industry)... where it goes wildly awry is this notion that they'll find a workable, handy use for it soon.

nothing like releasing brand new shit into the eco-system.
m.

I, for one, welcome our synthetic etc </obligatory>