Scientists To Synthesize New Life Form.

Although it is commonplace to manipulate existing bacteria species to get them to produce certain substances such as antibiotics and other drugs, the IBEA project might offer further advantages. "The advantage of a synthetic organism over manipulating natural organisms ... is then you would have a lot more control over the properties of the cell than if you rely on natural mechanisms," Hutchison said. "For either good purposes or bad purposes ... you'd be in a better position to design exactly what you want."
UPI