Can life be created in a laboratory from scratch? It seems as though we're embarking on the age of science in which this question will be definitively answered.

A US genetic scientist has apparently been able to create what he is calling "artificial life" from lab made chemicals. Craig Venter and his team of 20 top genetic scientists are apparently set to announce the creation of the first new artificial life form on Earth.

The new species is based on the bacterium Mycoplasma genitalium, and they've dubbed their new creation Mycoplasma laboratorium.

Of course, this brings about another question. Are we ready for a world in which new species can be readily created in the lab?

As Mr. Venter said to the guardian, this breakthrough is "a very important philosophical step in the history of our species. We are going from reading our genetic code to the ability to write it. That gives us the hypothetical ability to do things never contemplated before".

Some people are, understandably, worried about the discovery. Pat Mooney, the director of a Canadian bioethics organization, the ETC group, says it's basically a "chassis on which you could build almost anything. It could be a contribution to humanity such as new drugs or a huge threat to humanity such as bio-weapons".

I guess in my mind there's really no such thing as a scientific discovery that can't be used to do something bad in the end. We can't really give up, and say that we're fine where we are and we don't need to learn anything new anymore. So what do we do? We keep moving on, hoping that each new discovery will be used with the best intentions, and not just to make a new bio-weapon. Hopefully this work will lead to a whole new generation of breakthroughs which really help the world.