Question: do you think artifical life is safe to make?

Keith Brain answered on 24 Jun 2010:

The Craig Venter type artificial life (see the earlier question) is probably safe to make because it is just a direct copy of something already in existence. Designing new DNA sequences, and hence new genes, is more dangerous because there is the risk that the microorganisms created will be capable of harming people, animals or plants. So, such research should only be done in places with very good bio-containment – i.e. where you can be suse that no microorganisms can escape until you’ve tested them for safety. Will everyone in the world do this carefully? I don’t think so, but in the UK the rules are very tight.

There are also similar risks for the “genetic engineering” that goes on already, particularly for microorganisms. This is a much faster way of modifying the functions of organisms – eg. its easier to tweak one part of a car at a time than to redesign a whole new one from scratch. So, in some ways there is more danger from common forms of genetic engineering than there is from attempts to make “artificial life”. Worth everyone keeping an eye on and thinking about.