"This is the first self-replicating species on this planet whose parent is a computer," said Craig Ventner in 2010. He was already famous for his role in the Human Genome Project and seemed even prouder to announce the world’s first synthetic bacterium. It marked another milestone in our ability to control nature.After the announcement, the rate of progress in Synthetic Biology, which focusses on the engineering of biological systems has accelerated. Easy access to synthetic DNA and knowledge transfer to users beyond the scientists based in traditional biology laboratories have driven the growth of an industry estimated to be worth upwards of $10bn in 2019 and growing at a rate of around 30% per year. Although the majority of applications focus on better ways to produce particular drugs or other chemical products, the more ambitious teams are looking at the design and construction of artificial lifeforms.The public debate about artificial life started to move beyond images of Frankenstein and lightning bolts when Jurassic Park described used genetic discoveries of the early 1980s as part of the plot. While cheerful cartoons explained the basics of genetic engineering, dissenting voices were proven right.Ten years before Ventner’s press conference Michael Crichton, the writer of Jurassic Park had taken to the stage at a prestigious science event and attacked critics for misunderstanding the role scientists played in his books. Part of his plea to the audience and scientists elsewhere was to take their role in guiding society more seriously. His final lines were: “This is a great field with great talents and great power. It's time to assume your power and shoulder your responsibility to get your message to the waiting world. It's nobody's job but yours. “In a year where we have seen the start of a project to “de-extinct” the mammoth, when we have the full genetic description of our ancestor species available to help decide when Homo Sapiens colonised the world from our home in Africa, when we control our evolutionary path through human gene-editing: who can doubt the level of responsibility that needs to be taken?Amongst these challenges, sci-fi has provided a perfect test-bed to explore the complexity of the ethical and practical issues raised by synthetic biology and its applications. The ethical, safety and commercial arguments around these technologies are a significant issue for us all and have been explored in recent films.Gattaca was one of the first to deal with the complex social issues generated by the power of synthetic biology. The technology necessary for the social eugenics portrayed in the film was seen as futuristic when it was made in the mid-90s, before the success of the human genome project, and only ten years after the first IVF treatments. Of the genetic technologies used as a plot line in a film released in 1997, some are already available and widely used today. As Vincent Freeman, one of the characters in the film, says: “We now have discrimination down to a science.”The film has developed a cult following since release but was a commercial failure. With hindsight could it be the social questions it raised were simply too challenging? The key question of Gattaca: when does genetics determine our human characteristics is one society will continue to struggle with as the power to select and adapt the DNA within human embryos continues to grow.Perhaps the best-timed film of all was Splice, released within weeks of Ventner making his announcement in 2010. The fictional researchers cross an ethical boundary to create a new lifeform, which then escapes from their control with disastrous consequences. The film highlights the ethics of creating and destroying life, the human failings of the scientists, and the growing role of commercial drivers for research - alongside the risk of the new organism escaping. The director described the film as "... very much about our genetic future and the way science is catching up with much of the fiction out there."Films dealing directly with the issues raised by synthetic biology have declined in the last few years. Perhaps the technologies have advanced to the point where questions about their application have become too difficult a topic for a film to be funded by risk-averse investors? We can only hope a new generation of sci-fi writers will continue to challenge us - before society possibly sleepwalks into an unwelcome future. We are well beyond seeing scientists as Frankenstein but are still dealing with the hopes and fears that led to his creation.