Synthia, the first man-made creature Scientist accused of playing God after creating artificial life by making designer microbe from scratch -but could it wipe out humanity Scientists today lined up to air their fears over a genome pioneer's claims that he has created artificial life in the laboratory. In a world first, which has alarmed many, maverick biologist and billionaire entrepreneur Crai Venter, built a synthetic cell from scratch The creation of the new life form, which has been nicknamed "Synthia, paves the way for customised bugs that could revolutionise healthcare and fuel production, according to its maker But there are fears that the research, detailed in the journal Science, could be abused to create the ultimate biological weapon, or that one mistake in a lab could lead to millions being wiped out by a plague, in scenes reminiscent of the Will Smith film I Am Legend1 Synthia, the first man-made creature Scientist accused of playing God after creating artificial life by making designer microbe from scratch - but could it wipe out humanity? Scientists today lined up to air their fears over a genome pioneer's claims that he has created artificial life in the laboratory. In a world first, which has alarmed many, maverick biologist and billionaire entrepreneur Craig Venter, built a synthetic cell from scratch. The creation of the new life form, which has been nicknamed 'Synthia', paves the way for customised bugs that could revolutionise healthcare and fuel production, according to its maker. But there are fears that the research, detailed in the journal Science, could be abused to create the ultimate biological weapon, or that one mistake in a lab could lead to millions being wiped out by a plague, in scenes reminiscent of the Will Smith film I Am Legend