WASHINGTON scientists announced the reconstruction of the lethal 1918 Spanish flu

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NEW LIFE-FORMS CREATED WITH ARTIFICIAL DNA Posted By: LightEye <Send E-Mail>http://www.surfingtheapocalypse.net/cgi-bin/archive.cgi?read=116970http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/local/13426995.htm New life-forms created with artificial DNA BY ROBERT S. BOYD Washington Bureau WASHINGTON — When scientists announced the reconstruction of the lethal 1918 Spanish flu virus last month, they opened a window on a booming new research field with enormous promise for good — or for harm. Known as "synthetic biology," it's the artificial creation of DNA, genes and cells that mimic, or surpass, natural systems. Dozens of labs around the world — some public, some commercial — have begun to churn out materials to make synthetic drugs, vaccines, pollution sensors, even biological computers. Some experts warn that such artificial systems could be accidentally or deliberately released into the environment, possibly with harmful, even deadly, effects. A clever bioterrorist, for example, might be able to re-engineer the smallpox virus and cause an epidemic. People would have no immunity against such an artificial organism. An article in the Nov. 9 issue of the magazine New Scientist pointed out that a terrorist could order the genes to make smallpox or bird flu to be sent to him through the mail. The gene sequences are publicly available, and there's no system to prevent their misuse.