Laboratory research has shown that altering single genes can extended the lifespan of species of worms and fruit flies.
Cloning is a prerequisite for genetic engineering, the process of altering or adding genes to an embryo.
Finally, by altering genes and inserting them into animals, scientists will be able to study how the proteins the genes produce act in the body.
Dr. Billings says he has safety concerns about the technology and warns that altering genes may prove an exercise in hubris.
Besides, what matters is not *whether* he has altered genes, but what those genetic changes, if he has them, might lead him to do.
Forward genetics can be thought of as a counter to reverse genetics, which seeks to alter genes in order to illuminate their multiple phenotypes.
Is it morally acceptable to alter human genes in an embryo, he wonders, thereby irrevocably influencing the course of human evolution?
Domestication is the process by which humans alter the morphology and genes of targeted organisms in order to select for desirable traits.
Altering genes by transplanting them from different species instead of crossbreeding related varieties, bioengineers have already made corn and potatoes more resistant to insect pests.
The biggest issue with ZFNs is accidentally altering genes besides the target gene.