An error in DNA is called a mutation. (Shutterstock) I have always been fascinated by genetics, a branch of biology that helps explain everything from the striking resemblance between different members of a family to the fact that strawberry plants are frost-resistant. It’s an impressive field! I also have a personal connection to genetics. Growing up, I learned that members of my family had a form of muscular dystrophy called dysferlinopathy. I watched as my mother gradually lost the ability to climb stairs and had to use a cane, then a walker, and finally a wheelchair to get around. Her leg ..read more

Sangharsh Lohakare / Unsplash Hundreds of experts from around the world gathered at the Francis Crick Institute in London this week for the Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing. As at the first and second summits, held in Washington DC in 2015 and Hong Kong in 2018, leading experts in research shared their discoveries and discussed how they should be used. The prospect of curing certain diseases by changing the parts of our DNA that cause them is becoming a reality. A somatic genome editing treatment for sickle cell disease is set to obtain regulatory approval in the US later th ..read more

DNA editing has the capacity to treat many diseases, but how to do this safely and equitably remains unclear. KTSDESIGN/Science Photo Library via Getty Images The Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing, a three-day conference organized by the Royal Society, the U.K. Academy of Medical Sciences, the U.S. National Academies of Sciences and Medicine and The World Academy of Sciences, was held this week in March 2023 at the Francis Crick Institute in London. Scientists, bioethicists, physicians, patients and others gathered to discuss the latest developments on this technology that let ..read more

Pablo Rodriguez Merkel/Shutterstock Anyone who reads even a little about science and technology will be familiar by now with the idea of genome sequencing. This process involves breaking an organism’s DNA into fragments to study their compositions or sequences. Then the fragments are aligned and merged to reconstruct the original sequence. But why sequence an organism’s genome? What’s the value for ordinary people and the world more broadly? The answers are immediately obvious when it comes to the medical field. Understanding what makes a disease “tick” offers scientists a way to treat or pre ..read more

While resurrecting dinosaurs may not be on the docket just yet, gene drives have the power to alter entire species. Hiroshi Watanabe/DigitalVision via Getty Images “Jurassic World: Dominion” is hyperbolic Hollywood entertainment at its best, with an action-packed storyline that refuses to let reality get in the way of a good story. Yet just like its predecessors, it offers an underlying cautionary tale of technological hubris that’s very real. As I discuss in my book “Films from the Future,” Stephen Spielberg’s 1993 “Jurassic Park,” based on Michael Crichton’s 1990 novel, didn’t shy away from ..read more

Melbourne Zoo Around the world, populations of many beloved species are declining at increasing rates. According to one grim projection, as many as 40% of the world’s species may be extinct by 2050. Alarmingly, many of these declines are caused by threats for which few solutions exist. Numerous species now depend on conservation breeding programs for their survival. But these programs typically do not encourage species to adapt and survive in the wild alongside intractable threats such as climate change and disease. This means some species can no longer exist in the wild, which causes major d ..read more

Crystal jellyfish contain glowing proteins that scientists repurpose for an endless array of studies. Weili Li/Moment via Getty Images Watson and Crick, Schrödinger and Einstein all made theoretical breakthroughs that have changed the world’s understanding of science. Today big, game-changing ideas are less common. New and improved techniques are the driving force behind modern scientific research and discoveries. They allow scientists – including chemists like me – to do our experiments faster than before, and they shine light on areas of science hidden to our predecessors. Three cutting-edge ..read more

Gene editing could create super soldiers. Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock The UK government recently announced an £800 million, taxpayer-funded Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria). The brainchild of the British prime minister’s former chief adviser, Dominic Cummings and modelled on the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Darpa, the organisation will focus partly on genomic research. Genome technology is becoming an increasingly important part of military research. So given that the UK boasts some of the best genomic research centres in the world, how will its new agency affect the ..read more

Margaret Atwood gives a talk at a Walrus magazine event in Toronto on June 14, 2016. (Shutterstock) This year, Nobel Prizes continued to celebrate women’s achievements: the Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded jointly to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna for developing a tool for genomic editing called CRISPR-Cas9. This builds on the 2018 chemistry prize which went to Frances Arnold for her application of genetic engineering to create new proteins to benefit humanity. And in physics, Andrea Ghez received the award for the discovery of a black hole in the centre of the Milky Way. Canad ..read more

Mikaela Nordborg/Australian Institute of Marine Science, Author provided Genetic engineering has already cemented itself as an invaluable tool for studying gene functions in organisms. Our new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, now demonstrates how gene editing can be used to pinpoint genes involved in corals’ ability to withstand heat stress. A better understanding of such genes will lay the groundwork for experts to predict the natural response of coral populations to climate change. And this could guide efforts to improve coral adaptation, through the ..read more