How genetic engineering deliberately changes genes

Genetic engineering uses technologies to change the genetic makeup of cells, including transferring genes within and across species to produce improved or novel organisms, and Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen generated the first GMO, a bacterium, in 1973. The lessons answer how genes can be deliberately changed and help readers understand the methods and choices involved.

2 articles, 1 video, 1 book · about 1 hr 12 min of reading and viewing

The reading path

1. Read
   

   genetic engineering · Wikipedia · 60+ min read

   Genome editing can greatly enhance the frequency of gene targeting in genetic engineering. It uses engineered nucleases to make specific double-stranded breaks in the genome, which the cell repairs through homologous recombination or nonhomologous end-joining. In genetic engineering, a virus inserted a healthy gene into the skin cells of a boy with epidermolysis bullosa, a rare skin disease, so healthy skin could be grown and grafted onto 80 percent of his body, which the illness had affected. Genetically engineered bacteria could be made to perform tasks outside their natural cycle, such as cleaning up oil spills and toxic waste. Certain genetically modified microbes can extract heavy metals from their environment and incorporate them into compounds that are more easily recoverable.

2. Read
   

   Three Stunning Ways Biologists Aim to Edit Animal and Plant Genes to Fight Diseases and Extinction · Smithsonian Magazine · 8 min read

   Synthetic biology in genetic engineering ranges from making a few gene edits to creating artificial cells from scratch. Because it spans such different approaches, the field is divided over how it should be implemented and whether it should be used in wild creatures at all. Synthetic biology edits organisms' DNA to introduce new genes or modify existing ones, reprogramming life to fight disease and serve other purposes. For chestnut trees, changing their genome could boost resistance to the blight.

3. Watch
   

   The Ethics of Changing Human DNA Via Gene Editing, with Siddhartha Mukherjee | Big Think · YouTube · 4 min watch

   Siddhartha Mukherjee discusses the ethical questions raised by the ability to change human DNA through gene editing, including concerns about eugenics.

4. Book
   

   The Gene: An Intimate History · Bookshop.org

   The Gene by Siddhartha Mukherjee chronicles the history of the gene and genetic research through the 21st century, and cautions against letting genetic predispositions define a person or their fate, a mentality Mukherjee says led to the rise of eugenics.

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