Synbio, the New Tempest

Madeleine Bunting's column in the UK's Guardian lays out the terrifying threats of "synbio," which she says could lead to GM crops looking like "a storm in a tea cup." Her list includes (horrors!) bacteria to produce cheap anti-malarial drugs, bacteria to break down cellulose into ethanol, and bacteria to clean up environmental messes (never mind that some bacteria can already do this). "So beware of how we are being sold this scientific revolution with pledges to help Africa's poor and ease global warming," writes Bunting. Many of her commenters take her to task, one saying, "[Bunting's] de facto position on science and technology is both shrill and misinformed."