Synthetic genome = synthetic life?

The big news of the week … maybe of the month… let’s hope not of the year… is the Venter Institute’s construction of a synthetic genome, which was then transplanted into Mycoplasma mycoides and successfully drove growth and reproduction. It’s a technical accomplishment, certainly, but is it more? Here’s a perspective from a local synthetic biologist (Christina Agapakis, Silver lab), and another from the ever-thoughtful Philip Ball.