Obama approves 'man-made' life research

Artificial life creation given go-ahead

Man-made life…to some it conjures up scenes from Blade Runner—junk strewn laboratories with mad Japanese scientists hunched in the cellars of a futuristic Los Angeles modifying patented cellular life complete with bar code identifiers for a price.

Others might think of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World or even Mary Shelly’s famous Gothic morality tale, Frankenstein.

The controversial, cutting-edge science of synthetic biology has been deemed to have limited risks and been given the green light by the Obama administration.

Some progress has already been made in this field that seeks to artificially restructure organisms’ DNA and refashion it into the needs of whatever purpose a researcher, university, corporation…or government might have.

“It’s alive! Alive!”

Who owns what?

The sticky legal questions—already hammered out to a degree—will have to be addressed in coming years. When life is modified is it patentable and who holds the patents?

To an extent, the answer has already been provided. Patents have been granted for the new strains of grain created by Monsanto. Their genetically altered corn, wheat and other products are protected by US patents that the giant corporation has already vigorously defended in US, Canadian and UK courts.

The research into creation of new, novel forms of life seeks an array of potential benefits, among them breakthroughs in pollution control, energy applications, and medical technology.

The first report released by the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues “concluded that synthetic biology is capable of significant but limited achievements posing limited risks.”

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