Scientists Engineer Bacteria With Genetic 'Kill Switch' by SciFri published on 2015-01-23T22:18:18Z More at http://scifri.me/fwbxsx Genetic engineers have designed strains of E. coli that can survive only in the presence of a compound that doesn't exist in nature—meaning the bacteria's odds of escaping the lab alive are limited. Dan Mandell, a research fellow in genetics at Harvard Medical School who co-authored a paper about the findings in Nature this week, explains. David Guston, co-director of the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes at Arizona State University, discusses the ethical and safety implications of the work. Genre Science Comment by TSRobinson With great power, comes great responsibility. Please do try to keep this new bacteria only in the lab. 2015-01-24T19:31:54Z