Venter Compares Species Switching Project to Changing Mac to PC

"This is the equivalent of changing a Macintosh computer to a PC by inserting a new piece of software," maverick biologist Craig Venter told the Los Angeles Times. An unfortunate choice of words, or a prescient warning? My partner in WS Brandon said it best:

Turning a Mac into a PC? A stable, safe machine into a buggy, easily hacked security threat? Calls to mind a world of synthetic bacteria that could one day quit gobbling CO2 and start spewing out erectile dysfunction ads. Somebody from Venter's PR team needs to have a talk with the old boy...

The synthetic life project researchers hope to one day design a simple genome that can be added to a bacteria, which would in turn be programed to consume carbon dioxide or produce cheap, clean energy. Most of the news coverage praised the project, but the Wall Street Journal focuses partly on the potential of abusing the technology:

The dangers are real. Almost any skilled geneticist with a laptop, published gene sequence information and mail-order DNA
can potentially create a lethal artificial pathogen. Three years after
Dr. Wimmer created his artificial polio virus, other U.S. scientists caused even greater alarm when they resurrected the deadly 1918
"Spanish flu" virus, which killed more than 40 million people at the beginning of the 20th century.

For now, synthetic biologists are regulating themselves, but several watchdog groups want stricter rules. A group of government officials and scientists is also finishing a report in part to address potential bioterrorism issues. The final version should be finished by the end of the summer. Whether anyone will care is another matter, there seems to be very little public concern about the potential perils of creating artificial life.