Are we 10 years away from artificial life?
In late August 2007, an Associated Press article put forth the claim that scientists were no more than 10 years away from creating artificial life — and possibly as few as three. Could such a thing be possible? Scientists have made tremendous strides in decoding human and animal genomes, synthesizing DNA and cloning. Creating artificial, functioning biological organisms seems to present a tremendous leap beyond any of these abilities. But some of the companies and researchers involved in the quest for artificial life believe that the 10-year time frame is possible. Not only that — they say that the development of wet artificial life (as it’s often called) will radically affect our views of biological life and our place in the universe. The claims about the impending invention of artificial life may be a tad bold. Among the skeptics is Francis Collins, head of the Human Ge
