Synthetic Life likely in a few years
 

These people are ethically and morally void.

it is pretty crazy concept. just another sign of the apocolypse.

So if men can create artificial life would this prove or disprove
Intelligent Design, or Creationism, or what-ever anti-evolution
screed the Fundamentalists are pushing these days?

It would prove nothing.

Well, it does prove something...that man is not content meddling in his own affairs, but is convinced that he himself has to pay no heed to the laws of the universe. That man can somehow rationalize that his selfish pursuits are of more value than the experience of life.

I pity the poor unaware monsters that these Dr. Frankensteins are concocting for grant money.

These are sick folks...devoid of responsible judgment. They should be left out of any ethical discussion because they have proven that they are not concerned with the ethical discussion. Ethics are not important to them, and they are driven to fulfill their selfish desires at the most extreme cost. They are literally trying to throw together molecules already in existence to create a living organism and then to throw that organism into the gauntlet evolutionary machine of the environment come hell or high water. They have clearly displayed that they have absolutely zero respect for not only human life, but of the lives of other innocent beings. These people do not deserve our consideration or respect. Whenever the pursuit of "science" crosses the line of the sanctity of life, you are crossing the line that divides monstrosities from humans.

This is an experiment no better than wartime Nazi chemical experimentation.

We are stewards of ourselves and the lower life forms on the planet.

It's one thing to develop synthetic cell membranes, nanobots, synthetic DNA repair mechanisms, or other intracellular regulating materials, but its a whole other thing to develop an organism from organic molecules.

I am probably going to regret this .............. But what laws of the universe?
and Yokum it will be ok , no need to fear technology .......

Godwin's Law.

It proves nothing and only gives an even greater probability to a claim on either side of the aisle.

So anyway I went back and read the article again, and I would have to
agree with Llama that what they are doing is pretty evil, on
par with the Nazi death camps.

From the article:

Several scientists believe man-made life forms will one day offer the potential for solving a variety of problems,
from fighting diseases to locking up greenhouse gases to eating toxic waste.

The only other things I can think of this evil in my lifetime are the
invention of the polio vaccine, the Toyota Prius, and the sewage
treatment plant outside of town.

http://www.zone-sf.com/images/chimera5.jpg