Genetic engineering will change everything forever

Genetic engineering has accelerated millennia of altering various crops' genes

Although farmers have long cross-bred crops to obtain plants with specific colors, sizes, and other characteristics, these processes took significant time. Today, genetic modification in agriculture involves scientists altering an organism's DNA for various purposes, including enhancing pathogen resistance, removing allergens, and delaying spoilage.

3-parent baby technique fuels worries of future 'designer babies'

Some critics of this approach worry that any genetic manipulation will both culturally and technologically normalize the idea of "designer babies"—embryos that are manipulated or selected based on physiological characteristics including height, eye color, athletic ability, and intelligence.

How personalized gene-editing saved a baby's life

KJ Muldoon had a 50% chance of surviving a genetic mutation until doctors developed a one-of-a-kind gene-editing therapy. In an interview with one of the researchers behind the treatment, learn what it will take to make personalized genetic medicine possible for everyone.

In 2025, researchers in the UK began working on developing artificial DNA

The Synthetic Human Genome Project aims to one day construct human DNA, molecule by molecule, in the hopes of creating disease-resistant cells and synthetic chromosomes for study. However, critics warn it may be misused to create enhanced or modified humans.

Synthetic biology can prevent extinction by creating create disease-resilient plants and animals

Through gene editing and the deployment of artificial cells, scientists can leverage learnings from the genetic sequencing of animals with known resistances to protect endangered species. Gene editing of certain species, such as mosquitoes, can also reduce their ability to spread diseases like malaria between humans.

A deeper (nontechnical) dive into how CRISPR works

Extra crispy? No, it's CRISPR, but this gene-editing technology is "extra" in the sense of being momentous and destined to change everything. Through CRISPR, scientist exploit a quirk in bacteria immune systems, allowing them to potentially, and quickly, control genes, remove undesirable traits, and add preferred ones. The possibilities and applications are endless.

The history of the gene: an interactive timeline

Humans didn’t need modern technology to figure out that kids tend to look like their parents. But what did humans believe about genetics before we knew about DNA or cells in general? Explore this interactive timeline to see how philosophers and scientists throughout the ages tried to explain how traits are passed from generation to generation.

Changing a single letter in DNA can permanently alter an organism

Genetic mutations occur when cells replicate, which requires a copy of DNA to be created, and involve substituting, deleting, or inserting letters in a cell's genetic code. Mutations can be caused by normal cellular processes, chemical exposure (e.g., carcinogens), or radiation and may result in genetic disorders or genetic variations that drive evolution.

'Endoevolution' refers to the Darwinian selection happening continually inside us

The term, coined by Roxanne Khamsi in her 2026 book "Beyond Inheritance: Our Ever-Mutating Cells and a New Understanding of Health" describes the idea that evolution does not just occur across generations of humans. Instead, mutated cells continuously compete with healthy ones in our bodies, with implications for our tissues and health. Khamsi says these autocorrections are essentially natural gene therapy. 

Move over gene editing, scientists can edit your epigenome

Instead of deleting genes, epigenetic editing modulates their activity. A new paper tests if it’s able to undo a genetic effect of early alcohol exposure.

Advance genetic research by playing these scientific video games

Computers produce so much information that researchers can’t properly analyze all the data produced, and the overload can also lead computers to make mistakes. Researchers are increasingly turning to citizen scientists—members of the public who are willing to volunteer—to help them make sense of data when computers can’t. This article details a few of the ways you can contribute to genetics research by playing video games.

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

Scientific advances are unlocking a wide range of alternatives to IVF

From refined artificial insemination and microsurgical sperm extraction to experimental uterine transplants, scientific innovation is rapidly advancing potential fertilization technologies. But they come along with costly trials, some ethical dilemmas, regulatory issues, and more.

Is synbio really cool, really scary, or both?

There’s always been a divide between technology, the inanimate stuff that we build, and biology, the living stuff that nature builds. Synthetic biologists are trying to figure out how to close the gap by building living things.

Multiple new research paths may lead to slowing (or even reversing) aging

Aging has always been inevitable, but fasting, epigenetic reprogramming, and parabiosis seem to help people stay young. By studying centenarians, memory, and even the humble roundworm, scientists are looking for the genetic basis to live not just a long life, but a healthy one.

Genetic engineering mice is one idea to reduce Lyme disease transmission

Wild white-footed mice are the main carriers of Lyme. A research team is hoping to genetically engineer mice, using CRISPR, to make the animals immune to Lyme. They're proposing a field trial where they would insert a gene with an antibody to Lyme infection to break the disease transmission cycle on a private island and then try it in Nantucket if that goes well. Simply killing the mice isn't an option because it would upend food webs. Unlike traditional vaccines, this "heritable immunization" would pass from one generation of mice to the next.

Biotech is trying to boost drug production efficiency—using chicken eggs

A company called Neion Bio is genetically engineering birds in a bid to produce medical compounds, a herculean task that scientists have struggled with for decades. The US FDA has approved only one chicken-derived drug in the past—an expensive treatment for a rare liver disorder. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

What is cancer bioengineering?

While new treatments for cancer are under continuous development, researchers are increasingly using engineering principles to find wholly new strategies to combat the disease. Directions include nanoparticle drug delivery, advanced imaging tools, developing new materials to interact with cells, tissue engineering, robotic surgeries, and more. Such interdisciplinary efforts are expected to unlock new tools and therapies beyond traditional drug formulation.

Scientists from the frontline discuss the future of antibiotics and superbugs

Superbugs are a very real problem, but researchers around the world are working to advance our understanding of these pathogens and develop new medicines. This podcast talks with several scientists on the frontier of superbug research, offering insight into what we know—and what the future of medicine may look like.

Is human evolution speeding up or slowing down?

In the past 3,000 years, many populations have evolved genetic adaptations to their local environments. People in Siberia and the high arctic are uniquely adapted to survive extreme cold. The Bajau people can dive 70 meters and stay underwater for almost 15 minutes. So what are other recent changes? And will our technological innovations impact our evolution?

Hacking the body for a future that didn't happen

Journalist Adi Robertson experimented with one of the most accessible biohacks: magnets. Having a tiny magnet in their right ring finger meant they could sense magnetic fields, attract small metal objects, and more. But magnets weaken over time, eroding this new sense. Such implants do more than offer a new way of interacting with the world, they also pose new complications, such as the inability to get an MRI.

How humans are engineering the planet

One fact about our time is becoming increasingly well-known. No matter how far you travel, no matter in which direction you point, there is nowhere on Earth that remains free from the traces of human activity.

The US FDA recently tried to regulate the expanded prenatal genetic tests

The agency proposed a new rule in 2023 to make it explicit that these types of tests are devices under existing law and clarify that that the agency could move to regulate them. They finalized a regulatory change in 2024 that added the words "including when the manufacturer of these products is a laboratory" to an existing law, but a federal district court vacated that edit in March 2025—returning the law to as it was before.

Experts suggest there is a 10% chance AI will cause human extinction

AI superintelligence may hijack infrastructure, including power grids and transportation systems, if it surpasses human controls. It may also design unstoppable pathogens or deplete resources, like electricity, meant for human use.

Technological breakthroughs are spurring innovations in the industry

What if you could see your tattoos before they’re embedded in your skin? Or take a virtual visit into a local studio to work out your nerves over a first tattoo? The industry is anticipating some big technological changes, from 3D designs to sci-fi upgrades to more precise tattoo guns.

Modern conveniences may be contributing to allergy increases

A combination of genetics and how the environment changes our genes are likely contributing to the rise in allergies. But daily conveniences, such as dishwashers and packaged baby food, also change the level of bacterial exposures in early life, with potential implications for allergy development, experts from Mount Sinai Health System state in this video discussion.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

Watch how algorithms can be designed to train themselves and self-improve without human input, to the point where the optimized code is too complex for programmers to understand.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Radioactive elements can introduce software errors because the ionizing radiation they produce can detach electrons from atoms, and computer code relies on the distribution of electrons.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

Watch how viruses like Ebola can spill over from animals to humans—and vice-versa.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

After NASA's Voyager 1 captured Earth as a single pixel as it left the solar system in 1990, astronomer Carl Sagan used the image to reflect on humanity's fragility and the responsibility to protect 'the only world we've ever known.'

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

Poison ivy will likely become both larger and more resilient due to climate change.

Learn how your body is, scientifically, like a firework with its own slow, controlled burn.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

The power and influence of the American presidency have expanded significantly over time—far beyond what the founders envisioned.

Apeirophobia is an overwhelming fear of living forever, perhaps stemming from the brain's inability to conceptualize an infinite life.

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

Fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef have increased after installing waterproof speakers on the ocean floor that played recordings of sounds from healthy coral reefs.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.