The term genetic engineering refers to technologies that modify genes. Unlike selective breeding, which merely chooses traits that are already found in nature, genetic engineering acts directly on the genetic material itself in order to alter an organism's traits. Genetic engineering is the cornerstone of modern biotechnology, and through it human beings have the power to modify the molecular basis of all forms of life.

A brief history

The concept of genetic engineering emerged in the 1960s and was first realized in the 1970s. Its development depended upon a century of advances in science, beginning in the 1860s with Gregor Mendel's discovery of the existence of factors that govern inheritance. In the 1940s, it was learned that these factors, now called genes, are composed of a complex molecule, deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA. In 1953, Francis...