Craig Venter, Synthetic Cells and Playing God

An Open Letter to Dr. Craig Venter

Dear Dr. Craig Venter,

Your announcement on May 20th that your lab had created the first synthetic cell has left me absolutely terrified. Because of your work, I fear that the human race is now teetering on the edge of self-destruction. Although I assume that you had good intentions when you embarked on such a foolhardy line of experimentation, you have obviously failed to fully consider the possible consequences of your actions. Like many scientists and inventors in times past you seem to take pride in your ability to arrogantly tinker with nature – Dr. Venter, consider the consequences!

Like you, the inventor of the wheel probably intended only to help humanity by providing a new technology for improved transportation, but that nearsightedness ultimately resulted in despair and anguish for the rest of us. By failing to think about the consequences of the vile wheel, its inventor didn’t plan for the possibility of wheeled-trailers being used to move mobile nuclear missiles, or wheeled-vehicles pumping noxious fumes into the atmosphere, or innocent kittens being killed on roads. No, the inventor of the wheel selfishly left those concerns for future generations to resolve. Dr. Venter, I implore you to think about future generations!

I’m not a geneticist, but I know enough about science to understand that by meddling around with DNA you run the risk of creating super-viruses, flesh eating bacteria and possibly even a tyrannosaurs that will eat us all as we scream for mercy. The perfection seen in nature is the result of thousands of years of evolution, and that evolution has brought everything into harmony. By creating synthetic cells you run the risk of altering the course of evolution; you could inadvertently upset the natural harmonies that exists between things like parasitoid wasps and their host caterpillars, you could unintentionally change petroleum’s natural adhesion to the Gulf of Mexico; you could even disrupt the natural balance that exists between humans and the HIV virus – Dr. Venter don’t upset the natural balance!

Life isn’t just chemistry. Life is an invisible force driven by a magical spirit-energy that flows through all of us. You must understand that only God can create life, and only He can understand how life works. Your ego has obviously overridden your ability to reason; you have no idea how DNA, cells or biology really function. Dr. Venter, stop playing God!

Sincerely,
Concerned Citizen

Gibson et al. (2010) Creation of a Bacterial Cell Controlled by a Chemically Synthesized Genome. Science Express. PDF File .

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