Genetic engineering

We've already heard about genetically manipulated types of rice that are drought-resistant and antioxidant-rich. A new one, however, could potentially save the lives of people with high blood pressure.

Of all the superpowers in the animal kingdom, the squid’s ability to turn invisible is one of the coolest. And now scientists at UC Irvine have managed to recreate that in human cells for the first time, granting them tuneable transparency.

GMOs in food are subject to some tight regulations. Now, researchers at North Carolina State University have created a new version of CRISPR that lets scientists edit crops without introducing new DNA, meaning they technically aren’t GMOs.

Several years ago, we heard how scientists were looking at eradicating malaria-carrying mosquitoes by making the females infertile. Now they're going a step further, by eliminating the females altogether.

Geneticists at Penn State University have manipulated the expression of one gene in a plant that makes them more resilient to environmental change – and found that this is passed down to future generations.

While bioluminescent mushrooms certainly are fascinating, getting the things to grow in your home can be challenging. Thanks to a new study, however, it may soon be possible to buy glowing versions of otherwise-conventional easily grown plants.

Despite the fact that corn is one of the world's most commonly-grown crops, it still doesn't tolerate cold temperatures well. That could be about to change, though, as scientists have developed a hardier strain.

Not only are diamondback moths quite harmful to brassica-genus crops such as cabbage, broccoli and canola, but they're also very resistant to insecticides. Help may be on the way, though, in the form of a genetically-engineered version of the moth.

The scientist responsible for creating the world’s first gene-edited babies has been sentenced to three years in prison alongside shorter sentences for two of his colleagues. Chinese state news also revealed a third gene-edited baby has been born.

INTEGRATE is a newly-developed version of CRISPR that edits genes more gently. It uses “jumping genes” that insert large sequences of DNA without breaking the strands, and now scientists have imaged the mechanism at work for the first time.

The world has seen some major scientific achievements in the last 10 years, as discoveries and developments decades in the making were finally realized. New Atlas rounds up five of the most ground-breaking, history-making milestones of the 2010s.

A new study from an international team of geneticists is suggesting we are further away than many realize from being able to effectively genetically select for complex polygenic traits such as IQ or height and create designer babies.