genetic modification

By editing the genes in embryos in the lab, Chinese scientists showed that it's possible to change hereditary traits that cause a blood disorder. But the work also created unintended mutations.

Researchers who helped develop powerful techniques warn that tweaking the genome is now easy. More public debate's needed, they say, before making changes in genes passed from parent to child.

By making E. coli dependent on an artificial amino acid, scientists hope to show that engineered organisms can be safer and more useful for industrial processes like drug production.

Scientists in England are ready to do something that's never been done before — combine the DNA of two women and one man to create embryos that don't carry hereditary mitochondrial disorders.

Jennifer Doudna used to worry that her science wasn't doing anything important. Then some basic research led her team to a discovery that could one day be crucial in healing some genetic diseases.