The Influenza Pandemic of 1918

Scientists have built an organism from scratch in an experiment that raises questions about the very nature of life.
The research, reminiscent of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, will horrify many religious leaders, politicians and philosophers. The world's first synthetic organism is a tiny polio virus constructed artificially in the laboratory. But it is a first step towards creating more complex forms of life.
Within a century, some scientists believe it will be possible to 'reconstruct' species that have become extinct, or create totally new organisms.
The researchers who created the version of the polio virus said they wanted to prove how easy it would be for terrorists to make deadly biological weapons. A team at the University of New York at Stony Brook assembled the virus and then injected it into mice. The animals were just as they would have been by a naturally-occurring polio virus, and then killed.
'The reason we did it was to prove that it can be done and it now is a reality,' said Dr Eckard Wimmer, leader of the research team, which reports its findings today in the journal Science. 'This approach has been talked about, but people didn't take it seriously.'
The polio virus is tiny in genetic terms, but building an artificial replica took several years. The scientists followed a genetic 'recipe' for polio downloaded from the Internet and using genetic material - DNA --from a mail-order supplier to use as building blocks.
They made a series of small genetic changes to its structure compared to a normal polio virus - a kind of 'artist's signature' to prove that they had produced it artificially. Most scientists do not consider viruses to be alive, because they depend on host organisms for survival.
Dr Wimmer added: 'No, I would not say I created life in a test tube. We created a chemical in a test tube that, when put into cells, begins to behave a little bit like something alive.'
But the research paves the way for the construction of more complex organisms. For instance, smallpox, which has been eradicated in the wild, is a much larger and more complex virus than polio.
Some experts believe it would now be possible to recreate it for use as a biological weapon. Vadim Agol, a virologist at the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences in Moscow, said: 'In principle, yes, it's possible to synthesise smallpox.' James LeDuc, director of the Division Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, added: 'It is a little sobering to see that folks can create a virus from scratch.'
Despite the concerns, there are potential benefits to research on synthetic viruses. Viruses are increasingly being used in gene therapy, carrying genes into the cells of patients and correcting genetic disorders.
Organisms to clean up pollution, or even generate fuel, could also be created. Dr Clyde Hutchison, of the University of North Carolina and The Institute for Genomic Research, told a recent scientific meeting that he is not concerned about the ethics of creating lifeforms in the laboratory.
Ultimately, perhaps within 100 years, Dr Hutchison said mankind might be able to use the technology to reconstruct species that have become extinct.
'I like the idea of making extinction obsolete, ' he declared.
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