This is a fast developing story folks, but the gist from The Guardian:
Craig Venter creates synthetic life form
Craig Venter and his team have built the genome of a bacterium from scratch and incorporated it into a cell to make what they call the world's first synthetic life form
Scientists have created the world's first synthetic life form in a landmark experiment that paves the way for designer organisms that are built rather than evolved.
The controversial feat, which has occupied 20 scientists for more than 10 years at an estimated cost of $40m, was described by one researcher as "a defining moment in biology".
This, of course, has been a long-running goal. In the piece and the video interview with Venter associated with the article, he explains that the basic process consisted of synthesizing a new genome out of whole cloth and inserting that new, synthesized genome into a cell that had had its genome sucked out.
The new organism is based on an existing bacterium that causes mastitis in goats, but at its core is an entirely synthetic genome that was constructed from chemicals in the laboratory.
The result was replication, with the cell proceeding to convert itself into a new organism as per the instructions contained in the new genome. The synthesized cell is an entirely new species never before seen.
The cover of the new edition of The Economist sums it up nicely:
And man made life
I am not a biologist. But I am educated enough to understand the significance of this event.