In May 2010, after 15 years and $40 million, Criag Venter succeeded in synthethesizing the entire genome of a bacterium (Mycoplasma mycoides, which ordinarily invades goats) and transplanting it into another one, creating the first self-replicating species on the planet whose parent was a computer.  Some are concerned that artificial life forms could escape the laboratory and become an invasive species with unforeseen dangers, while others believe that this paves the road to a new era in which we will synthesize microbes for specifica purposes, such as cleaning pollutants or producing drugs and biofuels.  Venter has founded a company based on this new technology, Synthetic Genomics, that hopes to work with Novartis to make new flu vaccines, and with ExxonMobil to create fuel-producing microbes.

Click here to read more, and hear Venter describe his work:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/may/20/craig-venter-synthetic-life-form