Abstract
IF YOU THINK OF LIFE on Earth as a magnificent incarnation of natural technology, then life has the classic double-edged character of all powerful technologies. This technology has produced a wondrous diversity of beings displaying a gorgeous marriage of form and function on hierarchical levels that span the range from cells to rain forests and beyond. Yet it also has created pathogens that indifferently kill millions of people each year, ecological disasters that wipe out species, and intelligent beings that deliberately perpetrate catastrophes on similar scales. On Nov. 14, I attended a “discussion” at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., titled “Synthetic Biology: Coming Up Fast!” It made me wonder whether the scientific community might be approaching another Promethean moment, like the one associated with the emergence of nuclear technology last century and that ever since has committed humanity to shepherding nuclear technology’s promise while containing its peril...
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