It had to happen. What has been described as the most significant advance since the splitting of the atom has just been announced by a group of scientists led by Craig Venter in the US. It is nothing less than the creation of new life from scratch.

The control of all the processes of a cell, that which marks it as a growing, multiplying organism, is completely controlled by its DNA, a complex molecule restricted almost completely to the nucleus of the cell. Without this material, the cell cannot be considered capable of independent existence, let alone capable of maintaining a normal organism which can reproduce itself practically indefinitely.

What new research has shown is that one could actually take chemicals currently available and stitch them up to form this very complex molecule called DNA.

The next step is to take some bacteria, remove their own nucleus and replace it completely with the newly-constructed DNA, and lo and behold, you have a completely new organism, a new species of bacteria.

A process that would normally have taken nature hundreds of thousands of years can now be performed in the laboratory in a matter of weeks.

So how does this affect us individually? Why all this fuss about a new species of bacteria?

On one hand, this opens up a whole range of possibilities which can be utilised for major advances in production of therapeutic substances, as well as being a superb facility for research. By changing individual sections of the artificially created DNA, one could study the effect of individual genes in a way that was not possible previously.

Likewise, such bacteria can be made capable of special functions, varying from ability to form new chemicals, to absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, to sucking up oil slicks over the ocean waters. The range of uses of such bacteria seems endless.

It remains to be seen, of course, to what extent such advances can actually become of real benefit to humanity in the foreseeable future. But one thing is certain: what has taken years in the past to proceed from blueprint to finished product can now take only minutes, and therefore it is quite reasonable to assume there will be a whole new industry aimed at developing these ideas into actual products with specific practical applications.

On the other hand, a number of people have voiced concern about such fundamental advances. Creating new DNA elicits images of Frankenstein: once created, one has to wait and see the result of one's actions.

It is often very difficult to predict in advance all the possible functions of a newly-created DNA. It is possible that some of these bacteria could have harmful effects which cannot be pre-determined and eliminated.

It is true that changes in DNA - so-called mutations - are occurring all the time in nature. One might argue that human beings wouldn't exist today if this were not the case!

On the other hand, nature has an exquisite mechanism to delete and destroy organisms that are harmful to the organism. Over the years, these are sorted out and eliminated, in the same way that anti-virus software eliminates viruses from your computer. This fear of the unknown has prompted ethicists around the world to warn against the possible effects of such research.

Moreover, in the world that we live in, one cannot but keep in mind the fact that there are many individuals who could make use of such advances to unscrupulous ends.

Biological warfare has in the past used natural bacteria of known harmful effects, and to some extent, medicines, were available to deal with them. With technology that would be readily available to any determined scientist, and to which no known antidote would be available, such bacteria can be used by regimes to promote their nefarious aims.

There is no progress without risk. All scientific research has involved working at the very forefront of knowledge. Every now and again there is a quantum leap into the future, the results of which cannot be foreseen.

This is one such advance, and we have to wait and watch the development, with hope, but also with some degree of trepidation.