Creation Machine. New organisms, genome editing and laboratory hamburgers. Webb E., Hessel E.

Synthetic biology will transform our understanding of family ties, the time of our aging, what we treat where we live and what we eat. In this rapidly developing area that involves computers for correcting and changing the genetic code, revolutionary solutions have already been developed-from MRNC-vaccines and the diagnosis of congenital diseases in embryos to the meat raised in the laboratory, which taste is almost indistinguishable from the present. She gives us a chance to cope with global threats - climate change, a lack of food and an energy crisis.

But she also carries serious risks. Is it permissible to release genetically modified organisms in the wild? Should there be restrictions on improving the human body? What cyberbiological dangers threaten us? Can a future war with the use of specially designed bacteria and viruses lead to mass extinction?

Amy Webb and Andrew Hessel excitingly describe the present and future of synthetic biology, helping us think about moral dilemmas related to the purposeful design of life, and about the grand prospects that it opens before us.