Should scientists develop synthetic life?

A US team of scientists claims to have taken an important step towards creating synthetic life. Will this be good for the environment?

A report in Science magazine says that the team of 17 researchers copied the entire DNA code from a common bacterium in the laboratory.

The group says it hopes eventually to use engineered genomes to make organisms that can produce clean fuels and take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

Some ethicists warned about the risks of creating artifical life and said scientists were acting in a regulatory vacuum.

What are the ethical implications of creating artificial lifeforms? Will the research make a difference to tackling climate change? Is it a development too far? What regulation should there be