Am I the only one who's not surprised? It's a bit extremist to say that "scientists [are] fooling with natural laws with no regard for the consequences" or that we're going to create a "Jurassic Park." The methods are already available. Genetic engineering has always been part of molecular biology (heck, I've been manipulating E. coli genomes throughout my undergraduate career). It's no more dangerous, than say, Craig Venter attempting to build a minimalist microbe up from scratch.
The idea of other amino acids (building blocks for proteins) besides the basic 20 isn't exactly original. Nature has already provided a mechanism for alternative codes for stop codons (three letter sequences that terminate a genetic message). This is the case for selenocysteine where a stop codon also codes for this "21st" amino acid. Selenocysteine is not just something nature decided to make for the fun of it either. It's an important component of mammalian enzymes, protects against cancer, and even plays a role in HIV infection. (So don't laugh it off if someone's promoting selenium as a health supplement!) My guess is that the scientists commandeered the mechanism to make selenocysteine to make their own amino acid.
Besides, their "different" amino acid really isn't that different at all. P-aminophenylalanine (pAF) only differs from alanine because a phenyl group is stuck at the end.
