Scientists have created artificial life in a laboratory, leading to accusations they are ‘playing God’ and tampering ‘with the essence of life’.

In a world first, Craig Venter, a maverick biologist and billionaire entrepreneur, has made a synthetic cell from scratch.

The creation of a new life form, which has been nicknamed ‘Synthia’, paves the way for customised bugs that could revolutionise healthcare and fuel production.

In future, bacterial ‘factories’ could be set up to manufacture artificial organisms designed for specific tasks such as medicines or producing clean biofuels.

The technology could also be harnessed to create environmentally friendly bugs capable of mopping up carbon dioxide or toxic waste.

Dr Venter, a 63-year-old Vietnam War veteran known for his showman tendencies, said last night: ‘We are entering a new era where we’re limited mostly by our imaginations.’

But the breakthrough, which took 15 years and £27.7million to achieve, opens an ethical Pandora’s box. Ethicists said he is ‘creaking open the most profound door in humanity’s history’ – with unparalleled risks.

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Daily Mail

Locals in a small Canadian town have been stumped by the appearance of a bizarre creature, which was dragged from a lake.

The animal, which has a long hairy body with bald skin on its head, feet and face, has prompted wild internet speculation that it is a more evolved version of the famous ‘Montauk monster’.

The creature was discovered by two nurses in the town of Kitchenuhmaykoosib in Ontario, Canada, while out on a walk with their dog.

When the dog began sniffing in the lake, the two women started investigating, before the dog pulled the dead animal out.

After taking some photographs of the odd animal, the nurses left it alone. When locals decided to go back and retrieve the body, it has disappeared.

The photographs have now been posted on a local website, with an explanation which reads: ‘This creature was first discovered by Sam the Dog, a local dog.

‘It was discovered first week of May in the creek section of town, hikers noticed Sam sniffing something in the water and they approached to see in what the Sam had detected and they noticed the creature in the water face down.

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Daily Mail

A 15-year-old schoolgirl has told of her terror after being chased by a big cat she claims was a ‘black panther’ in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire.

Kim Howells was enjoying a walk through the woodland on her 15th birthday with her cousin Sophie Gwynne, eight, when they came across the animal lying beneath a tree.

Ms Howells, who described the ‘panther’ as about the size of a Great Dane dog, with big eyes, paws and a long tail, said the creature began following them after they spotted it at around 8.30pm on Monday night.

She said: ‘I saw something out of the corner of my eye and at first I thought it was a log or something.

‘We carried on walking but then I looked back and it was sitting up looking at me.

‘It was definitely a big cat. I’ve seen wild boar and deer in the Forest before and it definitely wasn’t one of them.

‘What makes me sure is that it was still light so I could see it really clearly.’

Ms Howells added: ‘Sophie was asking what it was and then we looked behind us and it was about five metres away, following us.

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Daily Mail

San Diego residents are reporting shaking continuing in the area. The shaking, according to the USGS, is likely due to the Easter quake this year which rocked the region.

Twitter is rolling with reports of rainbow cloud over Los Angeles today. Reports are coming in that this looks similar to before both the China and Chile quakes where residents reported and took photos of such events in the sky.

While no one can be sure what it means, people should always be prepared for a major Earthquake in Southern California as it is seismically active.

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The Weather Space