BBC News with David Legge.
Scientists in the United States say they've developed the world's first synthetic organism. Supporters say this marks the beginning of a new industrial revolution. Critics say scientists are playing God. Pallab Ghosh explains.
It's a development that some believe will transform our world on a par with the splitting of the atom or the creation of the silicon chip. Scientists working for a private corporation have created the world's first synthetic life form - a single-celled organism named Synthia. Its DNA was built block-by-block in a machine. What's more, when Synthia reproduces, its offspring also have the new artificial DNA. Scientists say that this is a beginning of a new industrial revolution. All manner of synthetic bugs could be made, they say, to produce new medicines, clean up pollution and create a new generation of biologically based electronic components.
Stock markets around the world have suffered further falls amid continuing uncertainty about the European debt crisis. An unexpected rise in unemployment in the United States contributed to the New York Stock Exchange closing more than 3.5% down, as Duncan Bartlett of our business staff reports the troubles in Greece are weighing on the minds of American investors.
It may seem surprising that Greece, a small economy with little direct trade with the US, could cause a fall on Wall Street. But if the problems in Greece could push the rest of Europe into recession, that would certainly affect many US companies. Many European countries, including Greece, are looking at making serious spending cuts because of their current economic problems. They recognized that in a short term, Europe's economy could stop growing or even be nudged back towards recession.