Genetic engineering is one of the most fascinating corners of scientific inquiry right now, but the headlines you see daily aren't telling the full story. So, we asked scientists on the cutting edge to share their perspectives on the breakthroughs that will shape our future.

A 'dead' CRISPR might be a better CRISPR for targeting Alzheimer's

A new molecular editor based on "dead Cas9" shows encouraging results for editing the genome

Charlotte Douglas, Institut Curie Paris

October 19, 2021

Ambitious gene editing needs an ambitious pair of scissors

Alyssa Shepard, The Scripps Research Institute

May 27, 2021

Genetic engineering can save the American chestnut tree from a deadly fungus

Colleen J Mulvihill, University of Texas at Austin

3 peer comments

December 17, 2020

Bioengineered yeast can produce the active ingredients of marijuana better than the plant

Sarah Laframboise, University of Ottawa

8 peer comments

April 29, 2019

The risks and rewards of genetic engineering, animated

A new study shows that some are 'immune' to CRISPR. What does it mean for biology's breakthrough editor?

Alireza Edraki, University of Massachusetts Medical School

3 peer comments

April 9, 2018

Why I'm quitting GMO research

Devang Mehta, University of Alberta

3 peer comments

March 27, 2018

Earth's weirdest creatures are genetic treasure chests

Joshua Peters, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

1 peer comment

February 26, 2018

Lab-grown leather and spider silk are the future of your wardrobe

Abrahim El Gamal, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

1 peer comment

November 7, 2017

How CRISPR proteins work together to capture foreign DNA

A biologist writes the CRISPR explainer you've been looking for

Alireza Edraki, University of Massachusetts Medical School

August 28, 2017

Why 'designer babies' won't be here anytime soon

Jay Bassan, University of Toronto

August 18, 2017

Inside the effort to create entire genomes from scratch

Devang Mehta, University of Alberta

August 16, 2017

The breakthrough behind those 'pure blue' chrysanthemums was pure luck

Andrew Scarpelli, National Louis University

August 16, 2017

How scientists use light to manipulate cells with the flick of a switch

Jackie Grimm, Princeton University

August 14, 2017