Man-Made Life a Boon With Risks for Terror and Error - BusinessWeek

Man-Made Life a Boon With Risks for Terror and Error - BusinessWeek: "July 8 (Bloomberg) -- Government regulation is needed to oversee the fast-developing synthetic biology industry, said two pioneers in the field, Harvard scientist George Church and genome researcher Craig Venter.
The ability of scientists to modify bacteria and other organisms by adding designer gene sequences may lead to faster flu vaccines and carbon-free fuels, Church and other scientists told a presidential bioethics commission meeting today in Washington. In the hands of criminals or terrorists, the technology may yield dangerous viruses or drug-resistant bacteria, a risk the FBI is monitoring.
The expansion of synthetic biology in recent years may let scientists create biofuels that reduce global warming and make cheaper and more effective drugs. Federal oversight is needed to keep track of how the science is being used and by whom to prevent the deliberate or inadvertent release of dangerous material, said Church, a genetics professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston."