The mega-ethical question of who and what is a human being is brought to one’s mind with increasing frequency by the accelerating advances in scientific technology. As human beings increasingly apply ...

Human genetic engineering has always been the stuff of science-fiction novels and blockbuster Hollywood films. Except that it is no longer confined to books and movies. Scientists and doctors are ...

The return of the long-extinct wooly mammoth or dodo bird may sound like a storyline straight out of science fiction. It’s not. Several de-extinction projects all share an ambitious aim to resurrect ...

Students, faculty and staff are invited to hear Maxwell Mehlman, the Arthur E. Petersilge Professor of Law, Distinguished University Professor and director of the Law-Medicine Center, present "The ...

GEN editors discuss both the news and history of DNA and genetic engineering. We present a recap of the 50 th anniversary of the Asilomar conference, delving into some of the history from the 1975 ...

The modification of the genetic makeup of cells. Genetic engineering modifies the DNA in cells to alter their behavior. In 1953, the discovery of the DNA double helix, technically deoxyribonucleic ...

Almost 100 years ago, Carrie Buck was raped, labeled an “imbecile,” and sterilized by order of the state — all in the name of genetic progress. Today, we no longer use that word, but the dream of ...

Genetic algorithms (GAs) have emerged as a powerful optimisation tool in product design and user-centred engineering, drawing inspiration from the principles of biological evolution. They use ...

Once a defining tree of eastern forests, the American chestnut was nearly erased by a foreign fungus within a few human generations. A genetically engineered line known as Darling 54 has now pushed ...