From hangover-free wine to naturally spicy tomatoes, here’s how CRISPR gene editing promises to revolutionize food

Imagine biting into a vine-ripened tomato. What flavors come to mind? Sweet? Acidic, maybe a little savory? How about spicy?

Thanks to an international team of geneticists, that might be the future flavor profile of the humble tomato. Researchers in Brazil and Ireland have proposed CRISPR a means of activating dormant capsaicinoid genes in tomato plants, the same genetic sequence that gives chilis their kick. 

CRISPR can also offer a boost to your daily breakfast routine — or take the boost away. U.K. company Tropic Biosciences is currently developing a coffee bean engineered to grow caffeine-free. That’s a big deal, because today’s coffee beans have to be chemically decaffeinated, usually by soaking them in ethyl acetate or methylene chloride (also an ingredient in paint remover).

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If you’ve ever wished you could have a night out on the town without suffering a head-splitting hangover the next morning, you might be in luck. A team of scientists at the University of Illinois have used their genetic scissors to boost the health benefits of a strain of yeast used to ferment wine — and they’ve snipped out the genes responsible for next-day headaches.

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