Synthia & Cynicism

You may have heard of the recent news of scientists having created the first "synthetic lifeform". It's really only the placing of a man-made genetic code inside the nucleus of an existing natural bacteria cell. They haven't made an entire cell from scratch that can live and reproduce. Nevertheless, it is no doubt a very clever accomplishment. However, is it wise? Is it something that will be good for humanity and the planet?

In the following article, I was more interested in the comments about the story than the story itself. This story appears in inventorspot.com which is hardly the place to expect conspiracy theorists and cynics. However, the comments posted about this news story are surprisingly almost all negative, cynical and condemning of this scientific breakthrough.

"Synthia" The First Synthetic Life Is Created

"Insane!When will people realise that scientists don't know what they are doing? This is very dangerous!"

"Sounds like a potential new bio-weapon"

"You are so very right! The few are going to kill the many in their efforts to become Gods
Scientist and Government get so busy with if they could, they never stop to think if they should!"

It would appear that the scientific community sails on regardless of the protestations of the people.

The truth be known, this technology is probably way advanced beyond this point already in military black project labs. Military technology is generally decades ahead of the civilian community. For all we know, the technology could already have been turned into a race specific bio weapon.

What's important to realise is that the people are waking up to the fact that scientists may be clever but that does not equate with wisdom. Scientists cannot expect to have their "breakthroughs" to go unchallenged like they have in the past. The people are applying the pressure to legislative bodies to stop or slow down such research until the implications can be fully assessed.

While there's a buck to be made by industry and shareholders, wisdom is never going to figure into the equation. That's where we come into the picture. If we raise our voice and make our presence heard, we can partake in the process. If we say nothing, our silence will one day condemn us. Write letters to pollies, post comments on news sites, raise the issue on forums. There's much you can do from the safety of your keyboard!