Here is Craig Venter announcing the successful self-replication of a cell with an entirely synthetic genome:

This is one of the biggest news stories of the year, and time will tell what its implications are. It has been extensively covered in the media, and will surely be a part of school ethics discussions for years to come.The full Science paper is online here.

Search for news stories and resources to help you answer these questions:

1. In what ways is this the first synthetic organism?

2. What were the success criteria for this organism?

3. What failsafes were put in place should the bacterium become widespread?

4. What are some of the potential applications of this new technology?

5. What are some of the ethical implications of synthetic biology? Identify stakeholders in the debate and outline their point of view.