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I M A G E B Y Y U R C H A N K A S I A R H E I

“Although these two techniques are very different, they both are reshaping biology and genetic engineering,” states Eva Nogales, a professor in the Department of Molecular

ALTERING THE GENETIC code of plants and animals is not a job for the faint of heart. Nevertheless, in re- search labs around the world, scientists are increasingly peering into the cellular structures of living things—and recombining DNA and RNA molecules to produce everything from new tomatoes to new medicines. “The tools and technologies used for viewing and manipulating genetic materials have become more widely available and much easier to use,” observes George Church, a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School and a pioneer in genomic research.

It is no small matter, even if the
matter involved is at the molecular
level. CRISPR, a powerful gene-
editing toolkit, is advancing the field
of programmable biology by leaps
and bounds. It allows researchers to
reconfigure genes and create new ver-
sions of things. Another technology,
cryo-electron microscopy (Cryo-EM),
is helping scientists peer into genet-
ic material at a resolution that was
once unimaginable. They can view
the intricate structures of proteins,
nucleic acids and other biomole-
cules, and even study how they move
and change as they perform various
functions. Both of these tools, as
well as more advanced computing
models, have introduced a brave new
world to genetic research.

A Brave New World
of Genetic Engineering
Genetic engineering technologies are advancing
at a furious rate, changing the world one cell at a time.

Science | DOI: 10.1145/3297801 Samuel Greengard