Living World / Genetic Engineering

Big Picture: The Banks That Prevent—Rather Than Cause—Global Crises

Seed banks put some much-needed wild vigor back into today's specialized varieties, protecting critical crops from being wiped out. 11.20.2009

The Second Coming of Gene Therapy

For years, gene therapy produced tons of hype but no results. Recently, though, new approaches have yielded its first successes: breakthrough treatments for blindness, cancer, and the deadly bubble boy disease. 09.02.2009

Evolution by Intelligent Design

Bioengineers will likely control the future of humans as a species. 02.02.2009

Is That a Dead Mouse You're Cloning?

Researchers clone living pups from long-dead, frozen rodents. 01.12.2009

#17: Cell Reprogramming Could Help Cure Diabetes—and Other Diseases

Stem-cell guru says reprogramming adult cells might actually work better. 12.19.2008

#41: A Synthetic Genome Is Built From Scratch

The art of recreating an entire bacterial genome. 12.14.2008

#46: FDA Approves Food From Cloned Animals

Meat and milk products from cloned livestock may soon hit the shelves. 12.13.2008

20 Best Brains Under 40

Young innovators are changing everything from theoretical mathematics to cancer therapy. 11.20.2008

Fighting for the Right to Clone

Stem cell and cloning guru Robert Lanza has battled the Catholic Church, the White House, and violent protesters. 08.19.2008

10 Ways Genetically Engineered Microbes Could Help Humanity

Fighting cancer, producing renewable fuels, and making your clothing glow in the dark. 08.06.2008

Fighting Cow Methane at the Source: Their Food

Genetically modified grass could be the key to reducing cow emissions. 07.08.2008

It’s Not Easy Being Seen

No need to dissect this see-through frog to learn how it works 02.05.2008

Testing the Genome

With Knowledge Comes Power … or Paranoia 12.14.2007

Message in a Bacterium

Researchers use DNA as a post-human time capsule. 06.04.2007

Ironman 2.0

Biologists enhance endurance with genetically altered muscles. 05.30.2007

Anti-Aging Gene

Can a simple flip of a gene make you live twice as long? 05.18.2007

Super Smellers

A mouse with an especially sharp nose could help old folks keep their sense of smell. 03.30.2007

Scientist of the Year: Jay Keasling

Which scientist had the greatest impact in the past year? 11.22.2006

Firefly Rx

How your favorite summertime insect may be illuminating drug research. 08.10.2006

Building a Better World With Cyborg Bacteria

Building a Better World With Cyborg Bacteria 02.20.2006

True Blue

07.24.2005

The Biology of . . . Flowers

Colors in the flower shop of the future may have little to do with nature 04.21.2004

Computer Bug

02.05.2004

Biology

01.02.2004

Terminator Genes

Here's another fine mess biotechnology has gotten us into 08.01.2003

Physics

01.01.2003

Botany

01.01.2003

Follow Up:

07.01.2002

Genetics

Year In Science 01.13.2002

Botany

Year In Science 01.13.2002

Works in Progress

The high-tech, high-controversy attempt to save endangered animals with clones and surrogate moms 09.01.2001

Genetically Altered Corn

How a genetically modified corn called StarLink that wasn't intended for humans got into your food supply 03.01.2001

Future Food

Beans that don't have to be soaked, apples that don't turn brown, and other wonders from the food technology conference 12.01.2000

Biocrops

that could win blue ribbons in twenty years if we don't watch out 10.01.2000

Cloning the Woolly Mammoth

If you thought reproducing sheep and mice was a leap ahead, you won't believe what the Japanese have in mind 04.01.1999

The Great Gene Escape

The seed companies say the plants they've created are safe. But who's to know what will come from a romp in the field with an untamed weed? 05.01.1998

The Year in Science: Genetics 1997

A Man-Made Chromosome 01.01.1998

Glowing Green Rodents

An unsuccessful experiment yeilds fluorescent mice. 12.01.1997

Buff Rodents

Knocking out a gene endows mice with an unusually muscular physique. 10.01.1997

The Good Virus

As bacterial diseases develop resistance to antibiotics, medical resarchers rediscover an older strategy: setting one microbe to kill another. 11.01.1996

Headless

Lacking a single gene, mice are born without heads. 01.01.1996