http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2014/0327/In-a-first-scientists-create-artificial-chromosome
""Humans first domesticated yeast for wine and other alcohol during the days of the Fertile Crescent (roughly 4,000 years ago), and have been using it ever since to make bread, wine and beer, Boeke told Live Science. Today, he said, the fungus is also used to makevaccines, medicines and biofuels, and the ability to create custom-made yeast would provide useful too for the biotech industry."
Welcome to the birth of … super-beer.
In all seriousness, this is a first step towards a lot more. Take a look at this link, regarding Pfizer’s history, and you can see R&D pharma/biotech going "full circle"
http://www.pfizer.com/about/history/timeline “The pioneering of the mass production of citric acid from sugar through mold fermentation fueled growth for years.”“
Here’s a suggestion about the implications: “For example, researchers could make synthetic strains of yeast to produce rare medicines such as the malarial drug artemisinin, or vaccines like the hepatitis B vaccine. Synthetic yeast could also churn out more efficient biofuels, such as alcohol, butanol or biodiesel, which could enable humanity to transition off of a petroleum economy, Boeke said.” Early days, which in a way hints at how long and dramatic the growth path could be for the global economy and medical technology.