Scientists at J. Craig Venter Institute in Maryland in the United States have created a gene map for synthetic life, in a move that could re-define birth of life and the fundamentals of human civilisation.
The research is aimed at designing synthetic life form that could be used in medicine and for industrial purposes like the production of biofuels.
Before they embark on the venture to create what could be considered as a real-life Frankenstein, the god-fearing researchers are planning to seek guidance from religious and ethical experts.
Fact is if man indeed is able to or attempting to create life, is man not playing god or at least attempting to do so? Needless to say, such a ‘blasphemous’ act will be or have already been met by resistance from others who have held on to the established fundamentals of our current human civilisation.
But this is far from the first time humans have attempted to manipulate life, nor would it be the last. Stem cell research is the most recent human attempt to replicate lifeforms with the goal of extending rather than creating new [human] lives. However, the twist in the latest project undertaken at the J. Craig Venter Institute in Maryland is that the life of the synthetic lifeform could be sustained indefinitely depending on its use value for instance in helping biofuel production.
The premise of the new research on the synthetic lifeform then throws up a new challenge to human civilisation. How far can we humans tolerate the existence of Frankenstein lifeforms living and breeding among us, though the purpose of their beings is indeed to serve our ends throughout their lifetime?
Gen X-I 