Artificial life likely in 3 to 10 years

<http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070820/ap_on_sc/artificial_life>

By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer
Mon Aug 20, 1:49 AM ET

WASHINGTON - Around the world, a handful of scientists are trying to
create life from scratch and they're getting closer.

Experts expect an announcement within three to 10 years from someone
in the now little-known field of "wet artificial life."

"It's going to be a big deal and everybody's going to know about it,"
said Mark Bedau, chief operating officer of ProtoLife of Venice,
Italy, one of those in the race. "We're talking about a technology
that could change our world in pretty fundamental ways - in fact, in
ways that are impossible to predict."

That first cell of synthetic life - made from the basic chemicals in
DNA - may not seem like much to non-scientists. For one thing, you'll
have to look in a microscope to see it.

"Creating protocells has the potential to shed new light on our place
in the universe," Bedau said. "This will remove one of the few
fundamental mysteries about creation in the universe and our role."

And several scientists believe man-made life forms will one day offer
the potential for solving a variety of problems, from fighting
diseases to locking up greenhouse gases to eating toxic waste.

Bedau figures there are three major hurdles to creating synthetic
life: