Science Channel Announces the Debut of Exclusive Look Into Dr. J. Craig Venter's Creation of Synthetic Life

WASHINGTON, May 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, world-renowned scientist Dr. J. Craig Venter announced that he and his team at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) became the first in history to synthetically create a living, self-replicating cell.  The news holds groundbreaking potential for solutions to a host of global challenges, including generating new food sources, pharmaceuticals and vaccines; cleaning up pollution; creating new energy sources; producing clean water; and more.  

Now, Science Channel is exclusively bringing viewers inside Dr. Venter's pioneering quest to produce life synthetically in CREATING SYNTHETIC LIFE, premiering Thursday, June 3, 2010, at 8 PM (ET/PT).  Over the course of five years, only Science Channel cameras captured the failures, successes and breakthrough moments of Dr. Venter, Nobel Laureate Hamilton Smith, Dr. Clyde Hutchison and JCVI researchers as they meticulously sought to create a synthetic single-celled organism.

What exactly does today's news mean for the human race?  Where exactly will it take us?  Could the technology be used for negative purposes?  What are the ethical concerns we must weigh before using it?  Following the premiere of CREATING SYNTHETIC LIFE, Science Channel delves deeper into the ethical and scientific implications of this discovery in CREATING SYNTHETIC LIFE: YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED, premiering Thursday, June 3, 2010, at 9 PM (ET).  This one-hour special is an open forum discussion featuring Dr. Venter, leading bioethicists, top scientists and other members of the scientific community discussing the breakthrough's ramifications and how it may change our world and the future.  YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED allows viewers to ask the experts about how this technology will affect their lives.  Viewers can log on to http://sciencechannel.com/ from now through May 26 to submit questions that will be asked during the show.

"Science Channel brings viewers closer than any other network to scientific discoveries that are changing our world," said Debbie Myers, general manager and executive vice president of programming, Science Channel.  "With CREATING SYNTHETIC LIFE we're on the ground floor of cutting-edge science.  We're giving audiences a platform to consider the issues and repercussions of this news, and directly question those leading the innovations."

CREATING SYNTHETIC LIFE is produced by Compass Light Productions.  Rocky Collins and David Conover are executive producers for Compass Light Productions.  Wyatt Channell is executive producer for Science Channel.  Bernadette McDaid is the vice president of production and executive producer for Science Channel.  CREATING SYNTHETIC LIFE: YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED is produced by CBS Eye Too Productions.  Stewart Kasloff is executive producer for CBS Eye Too Productions.  Brooke Runnette is executive producer for Science Channel.  Deborah Adler Myers is general manager and executive vice president of programming for Science Channel.

About Science Channel

Science Channel, a division of Discovery Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), is broadcast 24 hours a day and seven days a week to more than 66 million U.S. homes and simulcast on Science Channel HD.  We immerse viewers in the incredible possibilities of science, from string theory and futuristic cities to accidental discoveries and outrageous inventions.  We take things apart, peer inside and put things together in new and unexpected ways.  We celebrate the trials, errors and brinking moments that change our lives forever.  To find out more, go to sciencechannel.com.

About Discovery Communications

Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world's number one nonfiction media company reaching nearly 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in over 180 countries. Discovery empowers people to explore their world and satisfy their curiosity through 100-plus worldwide networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Investigation Discovery, Planet Green and HD Theater, as well as leading consumer and educational products and services, and a diversified portfolio of digital media services including HowStuffWorks.com. For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.

SOURCE Science Channel