The announcement by the J. Craig Venter Institute team of their creation of synthetic DNA (starting with a computer modeled bacterium genome and implanting it in another bacterium that had its DNA removed) has generated a considerable amount of media coverage. However, not as much as the Gulf Oil disaster, not by a long shot. There have been a few shrill headlines and quite a few using “Synthetic Life” or “Artificial Life,” but on a ‘round the globe look – not that much hooplah, actually. On speculation, I’d guess the relatively thin coverage is the result of a mixture of reasons: Confusion about what was really accomplished, a desire to downplay its significance for ideological or religious reasons, and the difficulty of presenting the story without a lot of background (it’s not an easy sound bite and there are almost no visuals). Nevertheless, there are plenty of reverberations around the world. Here are a few:

In the United States, President Obama called for the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues (BCSBI) to produce a report exploring the potentials of the new ‘synthetic life’ techniques. Two things to note: The speed of the White House announcement, which followed only a few hours after the Venter announcement (the White House was pre-briefed) and the fact that this commission is being given six months to come up with an analysis and recommendations – a relatively reasonable period of time.

The president instructed [chairwoman] Gutmann that the report should consider the “potential medical, environmental, security, and other benefits of this field of research, as well as any potential health, security or other risks.” He also asked that “the Commission should develop recommendations about any actions the Federal government should take to ensure that America reaps the benefits of this developing field of science while identifying appropriate ethical boundaries and minimizing identified risks.” Finally, he directed the Commission to “consult with a range of constituencies, including scientific and medical communities, faith communities, and business and nonprofit organizations.”

[Source: Science Progress]

PZ Meyers (Pharyngula) has a useful post that catalogs (and fillets) the probable range of religious, quasi religious, pseudo scientific, and denialist reactions to the story: Playing GOD!.

In the United States on Public Television, Charlie Rose presents a 25 minute Charlie Rose Show interview of J. Craig Venter shortly after the announcement. It was aired Friday, May 21, and will be posted at the Charlie Rose website. Venter appears tired and is given to repeating PR points, but under the circumstances and with friendly prompting it’s an interesting moment.

In the UK, The Guardian, Science has assembled perhaps the most extensive mainstream media coverage. Try the podcast of a Guardian panel: Why all the fuss?. Or the article: Synthetic life breakthrough could be worth over a trillion dollars