SCIENTISTS have created artificial life for the first time. They have developed a tiny new bacterium, or "synthetic cell", that is controlled by man-made DNA.
The technological advance is the culmination of 15 years of research costing more than $47 million by a team led by Craig Venter, a controversial American biologist and entrepreneur.
The breakthrough promises the creation of new, useful synthetic bacteria that can clean up pollution or produce energy, but there are also concerns man-made microbes could escape the lab or be used as weapons by terrorists.
Man has become the creator of life....