Right now, you're living in a kind of industrial revolution – where biotechnology, information technology, manufacturing and automation all come together to form synthetic biology.
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Articles on Genetic engineering
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Scientists have engineered sugarcane to increase its oil content and are developing renewable jet aircraft fuel from the oil. The engineered sugarcane could become a valuable energy crop.
Inserting a random DNA mishmash into a plant or bacterium directs it to make a novel protein. Sifting through the resulting molecules, researchers may find ones have medical or agricultural uses.
Americans have moved on from worrying about ‘test-tube babies’ – but there are still ethical challenges to resolve as reproductive technologies continue to advance.
A team in the U.S. is said to have safely and effectively altered human embryos. The news is a reminder that citizens must be consulted on developments potentially affecting the future of the species.
The news may have come as a surprise, but it probably shouldn't have. A bioethics expert walks through how big a deal this announcement is – and what we should be considering now.
The crops of the future must become much better at dealing with dehydration.
Every single Cavendish banana plant worldwide is genetically identical. This vast monoculture sets them up for disastrous disease outbreaks. But researchers have ideas on how to protect the crop.
Scientists have uncovered the genetics that explain the snake's impressive length – and used the science to create extra-long mice.
Advocates have argued for years about whether genetically engineered crops are safe to grow and eat. Plant pathologist and geneticist Pamela Ronald calls for a more nuanced discussion.
Are genetically engineered crops safe for human health and the environment? A new report says yes but points out problems and regulatory gaps. Three members of the study panel offer their takeaways.
The solutions presented by GM crops are rarely tested against the other options. Take a look at our philosophy of farming and it all starts to make sense.
Plenty of action in the new dinosaur movie Jurassic World, in cinemas from Thursday. But how realistic are the dinosaurs and who are the real monsters when we play around with nature?
A breakthrough in genetic of the human embryo raises the question of whether we want to create designer babies with greater athletic abilities.
The first case of genetically engineering a human embryo to cure a congenital disease is a technical breakthrough but raises troubling ethical questions.
Scientists in the new Jurassic World movie have taken scary to a new level with genetically modified hybrid dinosaurs. But is any of this possible?
That genetic editing techniques have become as straightforward as they have poses questions for how we want them to be used.
Leading researchers have called for a ban on using a precise gene-editing technology on humans. How can CRISPR advance science and why is it raising concerns?
Welcome to GM in Australia, a series looking at the facts, ethics, regulations and research into genetically modified crops. In this first instalment, Peter Langridge describes two GM techniques: selective…
Synthetic biology is an emerging discipline, but paradoxically it is not particularly new. Since the mid-1970s we have been developing ways of instructing pieces of biology to perform useful tasks in an…
Top contributors
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John Long is a Friend of The Conversation.Strategic Professor in Palaeontology, Flinders University
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Research Leader, Sport, Institute of Sport, Exercise and Active Living, Victoria University
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CEO, Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics
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Associate Professor of Bioethics, University of Sydney
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Personal Chair in Synthetic Biological Engineering, University of Edinburgh
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Chief Science Storyteller, South Australian Health & Medical Research Institute
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Research Associate & PhD Candidate, College of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences, Flinders University
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Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida
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Senior Lecturer in Ethics, Keele University
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Senior Research Fellow, Agroecological Futures, Coventry University
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Professor and Chair, Horticultural Sciences Department, Graduate Program in Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Florida
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Visiting Fellow (Molecular and Cellular Biology), University of Leeds
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Associate Professor of Rural Sociology and Science, Technology, and Society, Pennsylvania State University
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Emeritus Professor of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Rutgers University
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Director, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles
