When Francis Crick and James Watson published the structure of DNA in 1953, they changed the way scientists viewed living cells.
While many advances in genetics have been made since their landmark discovery, perhaps none have come with more staggering implications than a recent breakthrough by researchers at Yale and Harvard universities. The researchers were able to change an organism’s entire genome for the first time in history.
Although scientists have previously replaced specific genes within an organism’s genetic code, this achievement marks the first time scientists have changed the entire genome, which serves as the complex blueprint for life on Earth. The breakthrough could allow scientists to produce new kinds of proteins and new kinds of life.
Read the full, original story here: Creating Life As We Don’t Know It
Additional Resources:
- “Yale, Harvard scientists change an organism’s entire genome,” The Courant
- “Large-scale editing of genetic code now possible,” Healthline
- “Scientists uncover hidden feature of genetic code to control protein production,” Science World Report